Warm Feelings
by Checkmate-13
Summary: Fairy Tail is forced into a team building activity that revolves around anonymous compliments. The consequences of these messages may have a bigger impact than they bargained for. NaLu. Gruvia.
1. Chapter 1

**G'day! Hope you enjoy.**

"BRATS!"

Everyone in the Fairy Tail guild froze as Makarov towered above them in his giant form.

"I am NOT happy, you're really going to get it this time!"

Everyone gulped and looked around shiftily. Who had crossed the line? Loke wondered if news about his sleazing on the nightclub strip had angered the Master. Cana sipped her drink nervously, was he referring to her public drunkenness? Erza grimaced, thinking about that incident from a week ago where she'd threatened to burn down the bakery for running out of her favourite delicacy. Gajeel slowly put the guitar that he'd been tuning back into its case, had there been another noise complaint?

Natsu and Gray narrowed their eyes at each other, silently communicating their accusations.

 _What did you do this time, Lizard?_

 _Me!? What about you, Popsicle?_

Lucy shook her head at Natsu, silently chiming in. _It was definitely you, Natsu._

Juvia coughed nervously in the corner, _Have they found the remains of those girls that talked to Gray? No…surely not…Juvia hid them too well…_

Makarov cut across everyone's silent contemplations, pulling out the letter he'd just received. "The council just sent this official complaint, and a certificate we _have_ to hang on the wall by law. It says, 'Congratulations Fairy Tail on 1000 official complaints'."

A cheer went up from the main room of the guild.

"DON'T CHEER! One cannot progress in the way of magic while being mindful of the watchful eye from above…But that isn't a license to be a bunch of destructive fools!"

"What was the official complaint, Master?" Erza stepped forward. "We'll all do our best to address whatever the problem is…won't we?" Erza turned to glare at her unenthused guild mates.

"…Aye…"

Makarov sighed and shrunk back into his regular form, offering the papers to Erza to read for herself while he filled everyone in on the basics.

"Our 1000th complaint is a public relations issue, the council doesn't like the image we portray when we're out on missions. They say that nobody can tell who the teammates are due to all the fighting and bickering, and it makes the employers nervous about hiring us and other guilds in future."

"We get the job done!" Natsu interrupted angrily.

"That may be so, but magic is a business, and part of doing business is professionality. Their complaint, to summarise that extremely wordy document I just had to go through, is that we're unprofessional while we work."

A low muttering rang around the guild hall, no one wanted to be 'professional'.

"Lame."

"Yeahhh...nah."

"Like that's going to happen."

"Do I have to buy a neck tie?"

"SILENCE!" Makarov roared. "The order handed down to us is to do a team-building exercise. From many eyewitness reports, apparently the main problem is our own mages constantly fighting each other over trivial disputes, especially 'the fire boy and the ice guy'."

"Ridiculous!" Erza scoffed. "Natsu and Gray are the best of friends…unless you two have been fighting behind my back…" She turned on the pair menacingly, fists clenched.

"WE ARE THE BEST OF FRIENDS!" Natsu and Gray yelled together, putting their arms around each other's shoulders.

"Good." Erza nodded approvingly.

"Too gullible!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Friends or not, our teamwork is lacking…so I'm going to enforce the council's recommendation, we're doing their teambuilding exercise." Makarov announced.

"NOOOO! GRAMPS!"

"CAN IT! I'M SICK OF PAYING FOR DAMAGES! You can all learn to co-exist without demolishing everything around you!"

Erza nodded solemnly. "You have all given Fairy Tail a bad name, this activity will hopefully reform you into productive"-

"You're doing it too, Erza."

"B-but I- why!?"

"While it's true you're an efficient and neat wizard, your people skills could use some work…also I heard a little snippet of information about you and a bakery chef…"

"…I knew it…"

"Erza! Natsu! Gray! Lucy! Loke! Cana! Gajeel! Juvia! Happy! Elfman! Report back here at 1800 tomorrow, or prepare for a fate worse than death…" Makarov warned ominously, a dark aura outlining his small frame.

"…Aye…"

"Wait! Why do I have to go?!" Lucy and Happy yelled simultaneously.

The guild looked at them blankly.

"Stupid cat! Don't associate with me! You need to go more than anyone!" Lucy raged.

"So mean Lucyyyy!"

"Leave Luigi alone, Happy." Natsu laughed casually, strolling over to them.

"My name is LUCY!" Lucy yelled, punctuating her point with a kick to the face.

"I think you just answered your own question…" Makarov smirked.

"Wait! No! It was just these two being annoying!" Lucy begged desperately.

"Ahh but it takes two to tango, you've got to learn to control that temper." Makarov reminded her sagely.

"Great…" Lucy muttered darkly, glaring at her two friends.

"Well, if that's all, guild dismissed!" Makarov clapped his hands cheerily.

 **OoOoO**

"Lucy! Wait!" Natsu ran to catch up with the swishing blonde hair of his teammate, stalking along the riverside.

"Go away! It's your fault I have to go do this stupid activity!" Lucy hissed at him through gritted teeth.

"Aww don't be like that. Sure, it will be lame, but it'll still be fun to hang out together!" Natsu laughed freely.

"Idiot! We're not going to be paid! I need money to make rent this month, we had to take a mission!"

"Rent-schment." Natsu yawned, waving his hand airily.

"Too carefree! Some of us have responsibilities in life!" Lucy snapped irritably.

"If you need money just ask me for some, I've got piles of the junk lying around my house."

"Don't rub it in!"

"Maybe you should just stop buying so many new clothes…"

"What would you know?! You've been wearing the same outfit every day since we met!"

"Hm?" Natsu tore his gaze away from a fisherman trying to reel in his catch.

"And don't zone out so easily!" Lucy berated, getting even more aggravated by Natsu's vacant expression.

"Calm down, Lucy. Life is too short."

"You're the most frustrating person I've ever met…and that wasn't a compliment!" Lucy added angrily, as Natsu smiled even wider.

"Natsuuuuuu!" Happy flew into view as Lucy shook her head. _I spoke too soon._

"Hey! What's up, Happy?" Natsu asked, catching his cat friend and letting him sit on his head as they walked.

"Pssst, Natsu, let's go see what Lucy has in her kitchen for dinner." Happy whispered loudly.

"Good idea, it's definitely better than whatever we have…" Natsu whispered back.

"I CAN HEAR BOTH OF YOU!"

"Do you think she heard us?" Happy continued whispering.

"Nah, she's just bluffing." Natsu nodded confidently.

"STOP FOLLOWING ME!"

"Oh…I see..." Natsu mumbled sadly, hanging his head. "Come on Happy, let's go back to our cold, dark, hut. I'm sure we have a tin of tuna we can share or something…"

"Aye…"

Lucy rolled her eyes at this obvious ploy to get an invitation to dinner…and yet…

"…Fine! Come on then, but stay out of my bedroom!"

"You're the best, Lucy!" Natsu and Happy yelled enthusiastically, zooming past her to get to her house.

"H-hey! No eating until I make dinner! DON'T BREAK IN- never mind…" Lucy sighed as she watched Natsu clamour through her window off in the distance.

"Relationship troubles?"

Lucy was startled to see a fisherman watching from the riverbank, enjoying a quiet chuckle at the scene that had just unfolded.

"Something like that…" Lucy muttered bitterly, before running to catch up with the goof she'd fallen in love with, and his adorable, annoying, cat.

 **OoOoO**

"I'm so glad you all decided to show up." Makarov smiled warmly at everyone.

"Like we had a choice…" Loke muttered. Even though he'd kept his voice low, his words echoed around the vacant guild hall, completely empty except for the ten participants, Mira, and the Master.

"You always have a choice, Loke." The Master lectured lightly. "It's just that some choices are far superior to others. If you all kept that in mind when you were out on missions, then we wouldn't be here today, would we?"

This was met with a disgruntled mumbling from the group, although Natsu was a little louder as usual.

"Why isn't Wendy here?" Natsu whined, "How did she get out of this?"

"Do you have rocks in your head, Natsu!? What has Wendy ever done?! You should all look up to Wendy in the future on how to behave in public!"

"I'm just like Wendy!" Lucy yelled out, although she was completely ignored.

"And that's why Levy isn't here either. Sorry, Gajeel." Makarov added cheekily, stroking his moustache.

"Like I care about that shrimp!"

"I'm just like Levy too! Why am I getting lumped in with this lot!?"

"Enough! Mira, bring in the activity." Makarov barked.

Mira wheeled in a table covered in various arts and crafts paraphernalia.

"What the hell is this!?" Gajeel narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "I thought we'd be doing trust falls or something."

"AS IF I'D LET YOU LOT DO THAT!" Makarov went bug eyed at the prospect. "No, this is much much safer. You are all going to write each other some 'warm fuzzies'."

"Uh…some warm what?" Gray snorted.

"Warm fuzzies. You are each going to make and decorate a little post-box and then hang it somewhere in this room. After that, you're going to write a small letter to each one of your comrades here, it has to be something nice about them, maybe something you appreciate, maybe something you like about their personality or something they've done. You're then going to put it in that person's post-box, but sign it anonymously. After everyone's finished, you can empty your post-box and read the letters you've received."

For the first time, the mood in the room seemed to lighten.

"That's not so bad…" Loke murmured cautiously to the others, and was met with enthusiastic nodding from Elfman and Cana.

"I can't wait!" Natsu cackled evilly, looking straight at Gray, who was smirking back at him. Both already thinking about all the insults they were going to use.

"Wonderful!" Makarov applauded merrily. "Just a word of warning though, I will be staying here for the activity, and if I see ANYONE writing a 'cold prickly'…well, I'm sure many of you have experienced my wrath first hand…"

"A cold prickly?" Erza asked hesitantly.

"A message that is nasty or insulting. If it isn't warm or fuzzy, you'll be answering to me." Makarov warned, cracking his knuckles.

The mood in the room dropped all the way back down.

"Ugh!" Loke spat in disgust, "I'm not writing anything nice to these dopes" he pointed his thumb in Natsu and Elfman's general direction.

"Compliments aren't manly!" Elfman protested.

"Master, I would like to comply with your activity…but I don't like lying either." Erza chipped in robotically.

"SILENCE!" The dark aura returned around Makarov's body.

"Aww…" Natsu muttered, "So this won't be any fun at all…"

"Afraid not, kiddo. Now come on! Start making your post-boxes!"

Makarov shepherded the group of unruly wizards over to the arts and craft table like a bustling elementary school teacher. Straight away, the neat table turned into a sloppy mess of glitter, glue, and paint.

"I saw the streamers first!"

"No way! I'm pretty sure you were looking at those pink stickers!"

"Are you boys fighting?"

"NOT AT ALL!"

"If you tell me my post-box doesn't look manly one more time…"

"Real men don't use glitter!"

"Stupid cat! Stop stepping on my art!"

"Waaaah, sorry Lucy! I thought it was the rubbish pile…"

"ENOUGH!"

Makarov grumbled inaudibly as he shook stray glitter out of his clothes, a victim caught in the cross fire of Fairy Tail-style arts and crafts.

"It's been five minutes, whatever you've made in this time will suffice, go put them somewhere in the room and get started on writing the warm fuzzies."

After a little bit more fighting about where they each got to hang their post-box ("Gray's is too close to mine!"), all ten were displayed proudly around the room, the creators now spread out to keep what they were writing private.

Elfman had folded a piece of paper into a plain white rectangular box, declaring that 'arts aren't manly'. Makarov had informed him that he had to do something to make it recognisably his, so Elfman had conceded and written his name along the front in big block capital letters, 'the only manly way to write'. He was now sitting cross legged, frowning in concentration, gripping his pencil in his fist like a knife.

Cana had crafted a beer mug out of cardboard, and drawn a picture on the front of her winking, with a speech bubble saying 'Fill me up'. Makarov had coughed and turned away, not offering any comment. Cana was now lying on her stomach, kicking her legs in the air as she wrote.

Gajeel had just stapled together a big cardboard box, covered it in tin foil, and written a large 'G' on the front. When Makarov noted there was no way to actually put the letters inside, Gajeel had snarled and punched a hole in it. Gajeel was now muttering darkly in a corner, stabbing at his sheet in a similar writing style to Elfman.

Juvia had made two boxes and stuck them together side by side, both decorated in swirling blue patterns. One read 'Gray's love letters here', with an arrow pointing at the opening. While the other read 'Everyone else', and didn't even have a bottom to it. Juvia was now writing what appeared to be a very long essay while stealing glances at Gray from the Makarov-enforced distance of five metres.

Erza had designed a pouch. This was made possible with an upside down paper cone stuck to a large piece of cardboard covered in drawings of swords. Large text ran along the top reading 'Send me a cold prickly, and I'll coldly prick you!' Erza was now sitting calmly, situated exactly in between Gray and Natsu, frequently looking up from her work to make sure they were still writing.

Loke had designed something similar to Juvia, dividing his two boxes into 'Girls' and 'Don't care'. The first box was adorned with a smiling self-portrait of Loke, complete with sunglasses and a sparkling, glittery, background. The second box was left blank. Just like Juvia, Loke appeared to be writing some very long warm fuzzies, although there were four very short scraps of paper next to him that were already set for delivery.

If Elfman and Gajeel were writing slowly, then Natsu was moving at a snail's pace. Sweat was coming off of his brow as he silently mouthed the words he was trying to spell. His post-box was on the floor in the corner, unable to be hung up. An assortment of papers and streamers, coloured orange and red, had been sloppily glued together in a rough bowl shape, somewhat resembling a bird's nest on fire. Makarov had let Natsu off from writing his name on it as 'he was the only one who could have possibly slapped together this monstrosity'.

Gray chewed on his pencil thoughtfully, ignoring Makarov's attempts to get him to put his shirt back on. Gray had designed a basket that looked like it was made of ice, but at the last second Natsu has set it on fire by accident, trying to grab it to take a closer look. So as a backup plan, Gray had spread his shirt out along the ground with a scrap of paper on top reading 'Gray's warm fuzzies here. Beat it, Natsu!'

Lucy had pulled up a desk, sorted all her papers, and was sitting up straight in perfect writing position. But despite all this, she was barely moving faster than Natsu, spending more time spinning her pencil between her fingers than actually writing. Regardless of what Happy thought, Lucy was quite proud of her post-box. She'd used some of Gajeel's tin foil and fashioned a giant key, now stuck to the wall. A thin rope was hung around the end of the key, tied to small paper basket decorated with pink flowers. In her own opinion, it was a lovely piece of art…if it wasn't for the dirty paw print right in the middle…

Happy giggled to himself as he wrote his warm fuzzies, earning a suspicious glare from the watchful Makarov. Happy had drawn a picture of a fish on a piece of paper and signed it with a paw print. Natsu had then reminded him they were supposed to be making post-boxes and Happy had complained that he wanted to eat fish until they ran out of time. Fortunately, Erza donated a spare post-box that she had prepared in the event of an emergency. Happy pinned the picture of his fish on top of Erza's sword themed post-box and started fanning himself as if he'd just finished a hard day's work.

Makarov breathed a sigh of relief as his 'children' all sat quietly for the first time, engrossed in their work. Mira stifled a small laugh from behind him.

"Even when you put them in detention, they still make things as difficult as possible."

Makarov allowed himself a half-smile. "They are an uncontrollable force of nature, I think the days where I could actually reign them in are long gone, I'm surprised they still listen to me at all."

Mira frowned. "Don't say that, Master. Even if they were strong enough, they'd never call your bluff, they have too much respect for you."

Makarov's smile widened a little more, but he didn't comment any further. The dark energy he could produce when angry was just a stage show, he could never use that kind of magic on his precious children.

 **OoOoO**

"Alright, I think that's the last one!" Makarov announced. A muscle above Natsu's eye twitched, but he still dropped his piece of paper onto Gray's shirt, despite the message left there telling him not to bother.

"It's about time." Erza muttered darkly, even her patience had been tested waiting for Natsu to finish writing. While Gray, Gajeel, Elfman, and surprisingly Lucy, had lagged behind the other half of the group, Natsu really was in a league of his own. Makarov hadn't let anyone collect their warm fuzzies until he finished, but had eventually relented slightly and allowed Mira to assist Natsu to complete the last two. He wasn't as young as he once was after all, time was precious.

"Took you long enough, Smokey."

"I'll smoke you, _Ice Guy_ "

"Boys…"

"Can we go already?" Gajeel growled, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Yes!" Makarov jumped in, before things boiled over further. "Please, everyone, go home and read your warm fuzzies. I hope you all learned a valuable lesson…or something…whatever, I'll go send a message to the council that we completed their task."

Everyone scooped up their warm fuzzies, although Erza had to force Juvia and Loke to pick up both of their boxes, and made a beeline for the exit.

"Wanna read our warm fuzzies together?" Natsu asked Lucy eagerly.

"NO WAY! They are supposed to be private!" Lucy responded, her cheeks going slightly pink. She nodded at Cana, Juvia, and Erza, before dashing off.

"Fiiiine!" Natsu groaned. "Come on Happy, let's ditch these losers."

"Aye!"

"I'm going to beat the tar out of you if I find a cold prickly in here, Natsu…" Erza warned.

"I'm going to beat the tar out of you if I find anything from you in here, Salamander." Gajeel threatened.

"Hey! They are anonymous, you can't just blame it on me!" Natsu defended.

"True, but I'm fairly sure I could recognise your handwriting anywhere." Erza countered.

"Nuh-uh, that's why I was writing so slowly!"

"We'll see…" Erza finished dangerously, piercing everyone with an accusatory glare as she made her way home.

"Did you write Juvia a warm fuzzy, Gray?" Juvia asked innocently, unable to make eye contact.

"Of course." Gray muttered.

"O-of c-course!?" Juvia went bright red, fantasising about the possible meanings of those words.

"He liiiiiiiiikes her!" Happy teased, flying away.

"Shut it, cat! It's not like that at all!" Gray yelled indignantly.

Slowly the group split in different directions, leaving Makarov and Mira alone.

"What do you think the results will be, Master?"

Makarov stroked his moustache thoughtfully as he turned to head home too.

"Not for nothing has Fairy Tail won Sorcerer Monthly's 'Most Unpredictable Guild' award five years in a row. I'm not sure if I'll ever reach a magical peak high enough to predict what these idiots will do next."

Mira smiled, once again Makarov had underestimated his own ability as Guild Master, but she didn't push the matter any further.

"Good night, Master."

"Good night, Mira. Get some rest, tomorrow will be an interesting day."

 **NEXT TIME: Gray opens his warm fuzzies!**

 **Thanks for reading! As you can probably tell from the preview above, each character is going to get an individual chapter to read their warm fuzzies.**

 **If you enjoyed it, I love hearing why so I know what to include more of in future. If you didn't, please let me know what I need to improve on, it's the only way I can get better.**

 **One last thing: I registered as a beta, so if you're interested in using my services then please go read my profile and see if I'm the right guy for you.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow…the feedback was much more positive than I was expecting xD  
Er, a special mention to 'pinklemonade' for what may have been the most positive review I've ever received xD I was smiling for a very long time after reading that. And thank you to everyone else! Your feedback means a lot to me! Anyway, here's chapter 2!**

* * *

Gray lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His shirt, the warm fuzzies, and the rest of his clothes, lay strewn across the floor where he'd dumped them. It's not that he was scared of reading them, Gray reasoned, it's just that…

An acceptable line of argument escaped Gray's grasp, and he was left betrayed by his own thoughts.

In a guild full of crazy strong wizards, Gray was average. It was a huge admission for him to make to himself, and one that he would rather die before uttering out loud. When strength forms so much of your identity growing up, and then you leave your small pond and find out you're not as strong as you thought you were, it can shake you to your core.

Gray was still coming to terms with trying to find his place in the world. While he was constantly improving, he wasn't improving as fast as Natsu or Erza, and the gap in power between him and the likes of Laxus and Gildarts seemed one that would be impossible to cross. So, if Gray couldn't be the strongest, then what did that make him? How could he define himself from the other mages of Fairy Tail? What made him special? These were the questions that kept Gray up at night, and the cause sometimes of his short temper out on missions with his friends.

Gray cast a furtive look at the scraps of paper he'd left on the ground. Unease creeping into his chest. Thinking about his own shortcomings always led him down a path to _her._ The blue-haired witch.

 _What has she done to me?_

Gray didn't understand why Juvia followed him around. He didn't understand why she obsessed over him. He didn't understand what she saw in him. And like most things he couldn't understand, he chose to just shut it out. Gray wasn't totally dense, he knew he had a desirable physique, and a half-decent face, but Juvia professed to _love_ him…and that, he couldn't accept.

 _She's just after my body, like all the others,_ Gray thought glumly. He turned onto his side to face the wall.

After a minute of consciously trying to block out his thoughts, Gray sighed and rolled back over, picking up the warm fuzzies. He was never going to get any sleep if he just left them there.

 _Just read them, get it over with, and go back to being cool and indifferent at the guild tomorrow like nothing ever happened._

Gray unfolded the closest one to him, preparing for what was obviously coming. ' _I like your ice magic'_ , or ' _you have nice hair'_ , or ' _you're a decent fighter'._ Something like that, probably. He tentatively began reading.

 _What's up, Fullbuster?_

 _This exercise is totally lame, so I'll try make it quick._

 _You're my favourite guy in the whole guild. Now while that doesn't count for a lot because you're behind like 20 girls in the overall category, I do mean it. You can pretend you have a heart of ice or some junk like that, but you've always been there when I needed it. You're a calming influence, and I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather fight beside in battle. Even though I fight for Lucy now, you better believe our S-Class pact is still on, brother._

 _-Anon_

 _P.S_

 _Make a move with Juvia already you dork._

Gray couldn't hide a small smile, Loke may as well have signed his name.

After a few moments of soaking it in, the smile slipped off Gray's face. So he and Loke went way back and trusted each other completely, it's not like everyone thought that way. Gray placed Loke's warm fuzzy carefully on the bench beside his bed, and picked out a new one.

 _Dear Gray,_

 _We don't talk a lot, even though we've known each other for a long time. Maybe it's something I'll try change in the future. I'd just like to let you know that I've always appreciated having you around the guild. Your shenanigans with Natsu aside, it's nice having someone level-headed to talk to, or share a drink with. You always have something insightful to say, and you're a lot smarter than people give you credit for. Furthermore, that body. You put most of the guild to shame._

 _I also lose it every time you start stripping, please never change._

 _xoxo_

 _-Anonymous_

Gray was smiling again, he had a fair idea of who wrote this, and he also made a silent promise to try and talk to her more in the future as well. He grabbed the next note with a little less hesitation.

 _Thank you for making Natsu so happy, it really means a lot to him. Kiss Juvia already!_

Gray stared at the single line in confusion before shaking his head, he decided to try and figure it out later. Gray grabbed the next note immediately.

 _EVEN THOUGH YOU MAKE SOME PRETTY GIRLY THINGS WITH YOUR MAGIC, YOU CAN STILL BE MANLY SOMETIMES! YOUR SCULPTED BODY IS A SHINING BEACON OF MASCULINITY, AND I'M PROUD THAT IT HAS THE FAIRY TAIL SYMBOL STAMPED ON IT! LET'S WORK OUT TOGETHER SOMETIME! REAL MEN FIGHT WITH THEIR FISTS!_

Gray massaged his ears, even though the yelling had only been in his mind. Even if the message was just about his body, he appreciated the offer that had been made, he knew it wasn't to be taken lightly.

 _Dear Gray,_

 _Thank you for everything you've done for me. I couldn't have become the wizard I am today without your constant help and guidance. You always know how to calm me down, and are eternally prepared with pieces of advice or information. You are an inspiration to watch in battle, I've never seen you even think of giving up! I can say without a shred of hesitation, I aspire to be more like you._

 _Except for the stripping. Please stop doing that._

 _-Anonymous_

Gray frowned slightly in confusion, not able to recall anyone he thought he'd inspired. It was another nice letter, regardless. Gray went to reach for another one when he noticed he was more than halfway through, a pang of disappointment hit him. He took a deep breath, and picked out another.

 _Yo Ice freek!_

 _Im neva saying nething warm or fuzzy to u coz it wud just melt u like ur dum basket. Weekling!_

 _But Gramps is watching now sooo I dunno. FITE ME! I gess u r sort of strong. I dont think I cud improove so much without fiteing u all the time. I like that u want to protect ur friends as much as me. I feel sayfer wen ur a round on missions. Bring this up and I will kill u!_

 _But I meen it. Thank u for pushing me to be betta. I hope I can do the saym for u._

 _-Mistery Man_

A muscle above Gray's eye twitched and he scrunched the paper slightly in his fist…but then he smirked and letit go. As far as _he_ went, this was actually pretty impressive, although the Master's presence probably had a lot to do with it. He also felt a lot better about what he'd sent him back. There were three left now.

 _Fullbuster,_

 _I respect you fighter to fighter. You actually pick fights with a dude who uses the magical equivalent of your ultimate weakness, but you don't back down, you battle through it._

 _Try using some less girly magic in future though, sissy._

Gray could only shake his head, they couldn't make up their mind if they wanted to compliment or insult him. Gray frowned, noticing he was down to the final two.

 _Gray,_

 _It's been a pleasure to watch you grow and mature from a young age. I've always valued your advice, and have been impressed by your spirit and determination. In a job filled with battles of life and death, I've never once questioned fighting alongside of you. You are the ever-reliable rock, the core that Fairy Tail has grown around since you arrived here._

 _If there were more wizards like you, the world would be a better place._

 _If I catch you fighting with Natsu one more time I'm going to skewer you on a spit and roast you rotisserie style._

 _-Anonymous_

Gray sighed as he put down the note. Not because of anything written there, it was another message that he couldn't believe he'd just read, and one that he would definitely re-read later. He sighed because there was only one more, larger than the others, that he'd deliberately been avoiding.

Gray's hand hovered above the final warm fuzzy, before retracting slightly. He didn't have to read it. There was no rule that said he had to. He had read eight out of nine, that was pretty good. It's not like he'd be missing anything he hadn't heard before, she made no secret about how she felt in public.

Gray swallowed, closed his eyes, and grabbed the piece of paper. At the end of the day, he'd be hurt if Juvia didn't read what he wrote to her after all the effort he'd put in. It was only fair he read what she'd written to him. He unfolded the paper.

 _Dear Gray,_

 _Thank you for reading this message. Juvia knows you're probably doing so with some hesitation, Juvia understands. Juvia wrote you lots of different warm fuzzies, planning to send you all of them. Some were poems, some were love letters, some were M-rated, but then Juvia asked herself: what does Gray want? Maybe if Juvia asked herself that more, you wouldn't be so embarrassed of Juvia all the time._

 _So, Juvia decided to write you only one warm fuzzy, from one friend to another._

 _Gray, Juvia thinks you have the strongest will of anyone Juvia has ever met. Not just to win, but to get stronger. Most people in your shoes would be happy to have a decent position in a top guild, yet you strive to always achieve more. Even though you have a cool persona, your passion to protect what's important to you is obvious to everyone, and you're admired by all for that passion and determination. In a country of wizards with amazing power, amazing endurance, or amazing speed, you stand unwavering, unbroken, as their equal, with your ice-make magic. Maybe you don't see it, or don't want to see it, but so many people look up to you, Juvia included. You are kind, selfless, and the most reliable person at Fairy Tail. You will always be their hero, and you will always be Juvia's hero._

 _From the moment we met, Juvia loved you. But since we have worked together, fought together, and bonded together, Juvia has fallen in love with you. Juvia hopes Gray understands. Sorry for turning this into a love letter, it was not Juvia's intention._

 _-Anonymous_

Gray choked out a laugh, and was surprised to find that he was leaking tears. After writing her name more than ten times, she had signed it as 'Anonymous' anyway. She was truly one-of-a-kind.

Gray laid back down on his bed, not letting go of Juvia's letter, nursing a heavy feeling in his chest. Reading the warm fuzzies had been an interesting experience, but he could definitely say that they had not helped him get to sleep. He had a lot of thinking to do before going to Fairy Tail tomorrow.

* * *

 **NEXT TIME: Cana sips on a quiet beverage!**

 **Hope you enjoyed! Please favourite or follow if you liked it, or leave me a review as to why/why not.**

 **This was my first time writing Gray, and so naturally it's my first time writing Gruvia. I hope I did an acceptable job for all those Gruvia fans out there.**


	3. Chapter 3

"WOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH…YEAHHHHH!"

The small bar exploded as Cana downed another pint with the greatest of ease, defeating another poor challenger. She was known as Fairy Tail's resident drinker, but in reality she could drink anyone in Magnolia under the table. Cana basked in the temporary adoration of her fellow barflies, turning the empty mug upside down and placing it on top of her head. A line of foam escaped the glass, running down her forehead, and along her nose.

"Another round!" Cana ordered, taking the mug off of her head and slamming it down on the counter.

The bulky bartender sidled over and examined Cana closely. "That'll be the ninth, how 'bout clearing your tab before I get you another. Can't afford it if you pull a runner…again."

Cana waved nonchalantly at his shrewd glare. "Come oooon, you can trust me, I'm not going anywhere!"

Shockingly, the bartender was not convinced, so Cana was forced to rifle through her pack to produce some money. As she reached for her purse, her fingers brushed against some papers.

 _Ohh yeahhh, those things._

Cana paid what she owed and pulled out the stack of warm fuzzies from her bag. She didn't begin reading them straight away, instead, she just stared at the pile, drumming her fingers on the counter absent-mindedly.

She didn't know what had possessed her to write the things she'd written, it was just a dumb activity, no one cared if they did it properly…and yet she had. In hindsight she felt kind of silly, she seriously doubted that anyone else had put any thought into what they wrote, except for maybe Erza.

Cana sighed and flipped open the first note.

 _Dear Cana,_

 _I like how bold you are. Anyone can train and become strong, but you have what people can't train for, a fierce heart. I think that you're hugely underrated out in the field…and I think that you don't mind at all, which makes me just admire you even more. Everyone is always trying to prove themselves, but you just do what makes you happy, that is true strength. I wish I could be more like you sometimes._

 _It always puts a smile on my face to see you at the guild, the place just wouldn't feel the same without you._

 _-Anonymous_

Cana blinked a few times in shock, before shrugging. _It was probably just Erza._ Cana plucked another note out.

 _Yo Cana!_

 _FITE ME! No Im serius lets fite sumtime! Im sick of wiping the floor with ice princess and I need a reel challenj. Onestly u scare me a little so I try and avoid u wen we hav a group brawl. I don't wanna lose to a girl!_

 _Dammit! Gramps is watching again! I like ur hair. I also like wen u own Macao and Wakabe at drinking. U crack me up!_

 _-Mistery Man_

Cana giggled, it was hard for her not to, imagining the Master hovering over Natsu's shoulder, forcing him to write something nice. The warm fuzzy had been cute, Cana had always wondered why she never really tangled with Natsu when Fairy Tail got going…it was hard to believe that the all-powerful Salamander was actually intentionally avoiding her.

 _Dear Cana,_

 _You're intelligent and brave, and don't take stick from anyone. Maybe you haven't noticed, but even Natsu is too chicken to get on your bad side. That's pretty cool._

 _My favourite memory of you was from about a year ago, Laxus was ranting in the middle of the guild that we all weren't strong enough and he was just going on and on and on. So after about 10 minutes he finally pauses for breath and you just yell out 'This guy needs to get laid'. Laxus goes bright red, mutters something, and then just leaves! HERO!_

 _A lot of people roll their eyes and say it's the alcohol talking, but I know better. Don't ever change._

 _-Anonymous_

Cana frowned slightly, maybe this one was Erza? Then who was the other one? Cana massaged the bridge of her nose, trying to dispel the alcohol-induced cobwebs hampering her thoughts. Either way, it had been a pleasant surprise while it lasted, receiving these nice messages, but Cana predicted it wouldn't last much longer. She picked up the next warm fuzzy.

 _Cana,_

 _You are a smoking hot babe. Yeah, I know, I say that to a lot of girls, but to you I actually mean it. Nothing is sexier than a girl who kicks butt while dressed in a bikini top. It is a constant source of frustration for me that I could never seal the deal with you. Like, I'm too scared of the Master to elaborate in his precious warm fuzzies, but I could just write all day about how beautiful you are._

 _But let's real-talk for a second, you're seriously a cool person. You're not a hot head like the rest of the dopes, but you still like to have fun and can hold your own when the chips are down. Some of my happiest memories in the guild are from when we teamed up on missions. When we rolled into a new town I'd have all the girls following me, and you'd have all the guys following you, we were a killer team. It's always a pleasure being in your presence._

 _I'll never forget the time we were on a mission way out in Crocus. I was trying to seduce a baroness so she wouldn't dock our payment after we blew up half of her castle. She wasn't having any of it and was about to throw us out, and then you just leaned in and whispered something in her ear and she turned to jelly! Teach me your secrets!_

 _If a guy ever manages to tame you, or rather, if you ever allow a guy to think he's tamed you, that man will have my undying respect. You are the boss, you are the queen, you are the swaggiest babe Fairy Tail has ever produced._

 _-Anon_

Cana smiled warmly, a blush creeping across her cheeks. She'd heard it all before from Loke, but somehow it felt a little more special reading the words on paper. They would never work out of course…but this jerk always managed to surprise her. Had everyone written her something nice? Cana bit her lip, only one way to find out.

 _CANA! OF ALL THE WOMEN AT FAIRY TAIL, YOU ARE THE MANLIEST!_

Cana re-read the message a few times, making sure her eyes were working correctly. It took her about a minute to finally understand the true meaning of the words, and another minute of trying to work out why. In the end she gave it up and moved on, picking up two smaller scraps of paper.

 _You can't fool me! Kiss Loke already!_

Cana scratched her head in confusion again, this was becoming more unclear.

 _You're pretty hot, and a little scary. But in a good way._

"Oh come on!" Cana burst out, that had given her no clues.

 _Dear Cana,_

 _Juvia thanks you for welcoming her into the guild, but also for the work you did before Juvia arrived. At Phantom Lord, Juvia had to scratch and claw for every scrap of respect. Many refused to accept a woman could be a strong wizard. Juvia assumed she would have to start all over again at Fairy Tail, but instead, Juvia has been respected as an equal by even the S-Class mages right away. Thank you for being a strong female wizard, and not suppressing your feminine side to achieve respect, like Juvia once did._

 _Juvia also thanks you for all the advice you have given her, even the advice she did not want to hear. You are the older sister Juvia never had._

 _-Anonymous_

Cana chuckled, no mysteries here. She reached to grab the last warm fuzzy but stopped herself. Who was left? She'd lost track of who had sent what halfway through. Maybe Gray? Or Lucy? Cana shook her head, she'd find out in a moment anyway.

 _Dear Cana,_

 _What am I ever going to do with you?_

 _You can really drive me up the wall sometimes, like I want to pull my hair out or just scream. You're so incredibly lude and dirty, I honestly feel like you deliberately try and undo all the hard work I've done as a female role model. Have you ever thought about what kind of impression your sleaziness or excessive drinking could have on the younger members of the guild? You know Wendy looks up to you. Levy too._

 _But every time all this builds up, and I'm ready to explode…I'm reminded that there are different kinds of role models in the world. Some wear shining armour and lead from the front, a dangling carrot that inspires people to follow, but is never meant to be caught. Essentially, an impossible dream or ideal. Other role models wear pants and a bikini, inspiring people by being amazing at just owning who they are. Showing them that they don't need to change their identity to be happy or strong or whatever they want to be. When you become an S-Class mage, and you will become one, you will inspire more people than I ever could, because you're one of them, a real, authentic, genuine, person._

 _Maybe you get on my nerves for causing trouble, but I could never hold it against you, I wouldn't wish for you to be any other way. You're one of my oldest friends. You're a drinking buddy. A teammate. A comrade. A sister._

 _-Anonymous_

Cana swept all the warm fuzzies back into her bag, closed it, and left the bar.

"Hey! Where are you going!? I just finished pouring your drink!" The bartender called after her, but Cana didn't look back.

 _These jerks and their warm fuzzies, I've got a lot of thinking to do before tomorrow…_

 **NEXT TIME! Gajeel's privacy is invaded!**

 **Thank you for the feedback, keep it coming!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I just got back from Hokkaido, so here's my present to all of you :P**

 **Because this is my first time writing for Gajeel, I opted not to use any verbal tics as I know it can be difficult to follow along in general conversation sometimes. I really didn't want to confuse anyone, especially myself! Enjoy!**

* * *

Gajeel dozed lightly on his couch, trying to regain some energy after a hard day's work.

Because he had to do the activity at Fairy Tail, he hadn't been able to travel anywhere to work a job, so in the end he'd settled for some manual labour in Magnolia. He'd spent the morning on the construction site for the new library, and the afternoon up in the scaffolding of a new high-rise hotel. While the team building exercise hadn't been as physically draining, he was running on fumes by the time it was over.

Gajeel wasn't sure why he was so intent on working hard, he had nothing specific he wanted to buy, in fact he didn't even know how much money he'd accumulated. A small voice in the back of his head just kept telling him to keep moving, keep working, keep pushing, and don't look back.

Gajeel turned over restlessly, unable to wake, unable to sleep. Life used to be so much simpler. He couldn't say he'd grown a conscience, rather, he'd just stopped suppressing it. It had always been there, nagging away, but the more Gajeel killed, the quieter that voice had gotten. He'd convinced himself there was no going back, that he'd never be forgiven, but life had gifted him a second chance. Now he just had to figure out what to do with it.

"Heyyyy! Open up!"

Gajeel grumbled unintelligibly as the knocking on the front door pulled him out of his limbo state of slumber. He stumbled off the couch, stubbed his toe on the corner of a cabinet, and eventually hopped his way over to answer the door.

"What is it?" Gajeel barked sharply as he swung the door open.

"Oh don't be like that you big grump." Levy replied warmly, pushing right past him and entering the apartment.

"H-hey! Who said you could come in here?" Gajeel stammered indignantly, spinning around to find Levy already making herself at home in his kitchen.

"You did. Two days ago. Don't you remember?"

Gajeel scrunched up his face in concentration, earning a small giggle from Levy.

"Mmm, maybe I did…well you can pack it up and go home, I'm too tired for your trouble today." Gajeel grumbled.

"That's exactly why I'm cooking you dinner!" Levy answered brightly, unpacking her shopping onto the counter. "You've been working way too hard lately."

An awkward pause stretched between them, Levy hoping that Gajeel would answer the unasked question, and Gajeel intentionally trying to let that line of conversation die. Considering that Gajeel was one of, if not the most, stubborn person Levy had ever met, she decided to change tact.

"Sooo, tell me about the team building activity! I bumped into Lucy on the way over here, she was in a rush but said it had something to do with writing letters."

Gajeel rolled his eyes, this was another conversation he was not keen on having.

"It was nothing special, don't worry about it."

Levy puffed up her cheeks. "Come on Gajeel, you were there for ages! Give me something!"

Gajeel had gone back to lying on his couch, but something told him that Levy was not going to let him drift away. He could hear the metal scraping of pots and pans, and she'd been carrying quite a few bags when she came in. _I suppose it's the least I could do…_

Gajeel sighed and sat back up. "The old man made us send letters to each other, we had to write nice stuff and junk like that."

"What was the activity called?" Levy asked innocently, trying to conceal a smile. She knew exactly what it was called courtesy of Lucy, but couldn't resist the chance to embarrass Gajeel.

"…Wrm fzr."

"What?"

"…Warm…fuzzies."

Levy burst out laughing, much to the annoyance of Gajeel who had tried saying the shameful words as quietly as possible.

"So, how many did you write?"

"NONE!"

"Come on! You can tell me!"

"As if I'd write anything to those fairies!"

Levy continued laughing, not buying it for a second. "You're one of us now, you can complain and stomp your feet, but I _know_ you still participated.

Gajeel scowled at her. _This brat can read me like a book…scary._

"I wrote one to everyone…but I said practically nothing! I was pretty much the first one finished!"

Levy continued to giggle as she cooked. "Now that, I can believe."

Gajeel went back to sitting in silence as Levy hummed while she worked. This peace lasted only a few minutes before Levy pushed again.

"Say, Gajeel, if you wrote some warm fuzzies…that must mean you received-"

"No! You can't read them!"

"Whyyyy not?"

"Just because I didn't write any cutesy rubbish, doesn't mean that lot didn't spam me with it. I'm going to burn them just to be safe. I don't want to be infected by their…emotions." Gajeel shuddered in disgust.

"No! You can't do that! Someone might have put a lot of effort into those!"

Gajeel snorted. "Why would they have done that?"

"Maybe because writing something down and sending it is the only way people can have a straight conversation with you!" Levy replied sarcastically, although her eyes sparkled with a passion that her tone was hiding.

Gajeel mumbled something inaudibly.

"Was that a yes?"

"NO!"

"What's going on in here?" Panther Lily asked as he flew through the window.

"NOTHING!"

"Gajeel is going to read us his warm fuzzies."

"NO I'M NOT!"

"His warm- what?"

Gajeel groaned as Levy chirpily filled Panther Lily in on the details of the activity.

"It would definitely be beneficial for you to share your performance reviews with us." Panther Lily nodded thoughtfully.

"Uh, yeah. Like he said, it would be beneficial." Levy agreed.

"Enough! I'm never going to get any peace around here, just read the damn warm fuzzies! I don't care what people wrote to me anyway."

Levy and Panther Lily cheered as Gajeel pulled out the pile of papers and dropped them on the table. Levy turned the stove down and ran over to start reading them out loud.

 _To Gajeel,_

 _You're seriously tough. Inside and out. It takes a lot of guts to join a guild you've terrorised, and I admit I wasn't thrilled about it at first. But you put your head down, worked hard, and have defended Fairy Tail with everything you have ever since. You're a good comrade._

 _Give up singing, you sound like a-_

"Er…" Levy broke off from reading the warm fuzzy. "I think I'll leave that one there, they get pretty descriptive about what they think of your musical performances."

Gajeel nodded silently. Criticism about his music wasn't new, in fact he welcomed it, it fuelled him…but that other thing…

 _Am I a good comrade?_

"Next!" Panther Lily hinted at Levy.

"Oh, right." Levy cleared her throat.

 _GAJEEL! YOU ARE THE PEAK OF MASCULINITY! YOUR PUNCHES HURT A LOT! KEEP FIGHTING WITH YOUR FISTS!_

"Why are you yelling?" Gajeel grumbled.

"That's how it's written!" Levy defended, showing him the scrap of paper.

"Elfman…" Gajeel muttered, eyes narrowing as he saw the block script.

"Obviously…" Levy sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Next!" Panther Lily announced. "I want to hear a serious performance review of Gajeel's combat ability!"

"Like there'd be anything like that in here!" Levy scolded, before turning back to the warm fuzzies and reading another.

 _Dear Gajeel,_

 _Your brute strength and raw power never ceases to amaze me. And yet, despite your straight up brawling-style, you've still developed your body in a very well-rounded fashion so you haven't sacrificed any speed or agility. By my estimation, you'd be the fastest fighter I've ever seen for someone that hits at your level of strength._

 _From a magical perspective, I think you make decent use of your metal-based abilities, and I'd be very interested in testing the mettle of your steel sometime. I do have question marks about your offensive creativity however, for someone with really an infinite amount of weaponry, you continue to re-use techniques and forms you're familiar with, regardless of their effectiveness in battle. This would be one of my two suggestions, to get creative._

 _The other suggestion relates to your endurance and durability. You are exceptional in this area, but I can't help but feel you should be more than exceptional. I understand you can change your skin to metal to absorb hits better, but is there a way to shift and strengthen metal into specific areas of your body to better block or deflect an enemy attack? Once again, I'd be very interested in working with you in future on this matter._

 _You have been a fine addition to Fairy Tail, and with more work and training I wouldn't be surprised to see you elevated to S-Rank._

 _-Anonymous_

"Much better." Panther Lily nodded approvingly.

"Too professional! This was supposed to be about feelings!" Levy complained.

Gajeel remained silent, a pensive expression replacing his previously bored look.

Levy waited a moment to see if he'd comment, but after a few seconds she continued on to the next message.

 _Yo! Metal Freek!_

 _U always make me lauff. Lahf. Larf. Larfgh. Lar-fu. Dammit! I'm trying to say ur so week u make me laarufghhnngrjkq I give up. You no what I meen. Gahhh! Why does Gramps keep walking over to watch me? EVERYTIME! Uhhh, yo! Gajeel! I like that u play music even thou ur terribull. Ur a pretty funny guy._

 _I hope u find Metalicana sum day._

 _-Mistery Man_

Gajeel frowned slightly, "Did he really try and write 'laugh' five times?"

"Six." Levy corrected him with a laugh.

Levy had assumed Gajeel was about to mock Natsu, but instead he continued to look contemplative, staring off into the distance. Panther Lily and Levy exchanged confused looks, before Levy shrugged and grabbed the next warm fuzzy.

 _Even though I'm not into that kind of thing, your piercings are kind of cool. I thought about getting one, like a cool nose stud, but the thought of putting a hole in my face was just too disgusting, it'd be like a crime against art._

 _-Anon_

"Loke." Levy and Panther Lily guessed at the same time.

Gajeel once again declined to comment, he didn't have much to do with the narcissistic lion spirit.

 _Dear Gajeel,_

 _Thank you for looking out for Juvia at our new guild. We were comrades for a long time, but only recently we became family. It makes Juvia very happy to see you at Fairy Tail, you are a different person. You still act the same a lot of the time, but Juvia can see the change behind your eyes. You are so tough, it makes Juvia smile to know you are using that power to protect people who are special to you, even if you will never admit it._

 _Juvia also sees something else behind your eyes, you know what Juvia is talking about. No amount of work will make it go away, the answer has to come from within. Juvia overcame something similar, although you will have a bigger mountain to climb._

 _Please know that you can talk to Juvia at any time._

 _-Anonymous_

Levy looked up at Gajeel questioningly, "What was that about?"

Gajeel grunted and shrugged his shoulders, "Women."

Levy narrowed her eyes disapprovingly, but moved on.

 _Dear Gajeel,_

 _I have no idea what to say. I'm way too scared to talk to you in real life, and now I have this opportunity to write you something anonymously and I'm at a loss for words._

 _I guess, more than anything, I'm extremely grateful that you're on our side now. While I don't feel safe talking to you, I do feel safer knowing that you're now protecting Fairy Tail._

 _Did you know that published media criticism of Fairy Tail, in Magnolia, has dropped by 32% since you joined? What I'm saying is, in your own special way you actually make the lives of other Fairy Tail wizards easier. Personally, I haven't been harassed by a reporter since you and the screwdriver incident._

 _So, for that, I thank you._

 _-Anonymous_

"Uhhh, care to explain that one?" Levy asked hesitantly. "I don't remember anything about a screwdriver incident."

Gajeel smirked evilly, motioning with his hand as he mimed jamming a screwdriver up someone's nose.

"Ahhh, so that's why I haven't been bugged by Sorcerer Monthly lately…those poor reporters, what did they ask you?"

"When my birthday was, nosy pricks. How many are left?" Gajeel muttered.

"Two!"

"Good. Get it over with."

Levy pouted, but continued reading.

 _Dear Gajeel,_

 _Thanks you for doing that thing with the screwdriver, I haven't been accosted by a reporter in the street for a while now, very refreshing._

 _You probably don't want people to keep reminding you about Phantom Lord, but I'll admit I had big doubts about you that you've proven wrong over time. I guess I can't really say much more than you are as much of a Fairy Tail wizard as Erza, or Gray, or Natsu, or anyone else. The Master was right about you. I, and many others, never really officially said it to you, so here and now will have to do, welcome to Fairy Tail!_

 _-Anonymous_

 _P.S_

 _Your piercings are pretty cool_

"That was nice." Panther Lily commented neutrally. Levy nodded enthusiastically, turning to Gajeel for a reaction.

"Mm. Nice."

Levy smacked her forehead, "Show some emotion!"

Gajeel buried a smile, knowing that he was getting under Levy's skin. Truthfully, these had all been a lot kinder than he expected. He still considered himself an outsider, there were too many differences between him and the rest of the Fairy Tail wizards, but it was clear to him now he wasn't about to be kicked out, they had taken him in unequivocally.

 _Was that what I was worried about? That they all still see me as a member of Phantom Lord?_

"Last one!" Levy announced grandly.

 _Gajeel! You can't fool me! Just_ -

Levy broke off reading with an embarrassed squeak and dropped the warm fuzzy.

"Shrimp?" Gajeel laughed, watching her go red in the face. "Why did you stop reading?"

"N-nothing!" Levy bent down to pick the paper up, but to her shock it was no longer there.

"Ahem!" Panther Lily cleared his throat, the paper firmly gripped between his little paws.

 _Gajeel! You can't fool me! Just kiss Levy already!_

"Well," Panther Lily finished, smirking at the pair. "I'll leave you two to it then…" And with that, Panther Lily flew out the way he came in.

"Don't say it like that!" Gajeel roared after him.

Levy giggled, although still embarrassed herself. She went back to the kitchen and resumed cooking, humming quietly to herself and trying not let her smile grow any wider than it already was.

"Damn cat…" Gajeel growled, leaning back inside the apartment after yelling at the retreating Panther Lily, "…all three of them are bloody pests. What are you smiling at, Shrimp?"

"Nothing!"

Gajeel sighed under his breath, collapsing back onto the couch.

 _I've got a lot of thinking to do before I rock up to the guild tomorrow…_

* * *

 **NEXT TIME: No warm fuzzy can escape the microscope of Detective Erza!**

 **Thank you for the reviews, I am always interested in what people like/dislike about the story and my writing. If you have any thoughts at all, please share, I really enjoy talking with other users!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone. Thank you for all the reviews! I'm always happy to read what people thought.**

 **One consistent comment is asking who wrote which warm fuzzy. Since so many people asked…I'll release the full list at the end, until then you'll have to guess like everyone else. A few are left ambiguous each chapter for a variety of reasons, but the main one is that the point of the activity is that they are anonymous messages!**

 **I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Erza paced back and forward in her apartment, thinking furiously. The nine warm fuzzies she'd received were pinned across her bedroom wall, threads of yellow string connecting them to various photos of her suspects and other related clues. Erza spun a black marker between her fingers, pondering her next move, the space on the wall between the evidence was nearly covered in her scribbled notes.

Erza wasn't aware of what the time was, but she was damn sure that she would be the winner of the warm fuzzy activity. Failure wasn't an option, she had a reputation to uphold; she couldn't allow cracks in her armour, no matter how small. Unfortunately, after a promising start, Erza had reached a dead end.

"Let's review the evidence from the beginning!" Erza announced to the empty room.

 _ERZA! YOUR FEROCIOUS TEMPER IS PERFECTMANLINESS! DON'T HIT ME!_

"Exhibit A is a brief message that covers a few different things. My temper, the manliness of my temper, and the writer's desire for his opinion to not result in any physical repercussions, which is in itself another jab at my temper. Many wizards have faced my temper previously, so that fact offers no clues, however the reference to manliness is a recognised trait of Elfman Strauss. I also made a mental note of his handwriting when the Master forced him to write his name on his post-box. I was paying close attention as I thought it was suspicious he didn't want to disclose his handwriting, a sneaky attempt at gaining an unfair advantage in this game. This block style is identical to his, and the brevity is typical of his normal speech patterns."

Erza paused for dramatic effect, swivelling to face a non-existent jury. "I am…100% certain, that this warm fuzzy was sent by Elfman."

Erza strode over to the wall and unpinned Exhibit A, and the picture of Elfman, and placed them both on a nearby table, taking them out of the equation. She breathed a deep sigh of exhaustion, before straightening up and continuing her monologue.

 _Dear Erza,_

 _Juvia would like to thank you for all your guidance since her arrival here. You have been nothing but helpful, Juvia couldn't have believed such a caring wizard existed._

 _Juvia treasures the memories we've shared together, her favourite is when you organised a 'girls only' camping trip, but then it started raining so you held the camp inside Fairy Tail and kicked all the boys out, Master included. Juvia hopes to command even a sliver of that sort of respect one day._

 _Juvia also admires how beautiful you are, you really are the perfect shining star of Fairy Tail. You are a very difficult love rival to overcome, but Juvia will do her best to win Gray's heart from you and Lucy._

 _-Anonymous_

Erza had resumed her contemplative pacing.

"Exhibit B is a fascinating document, the owner would have you believe that they are Juvia Lockser, going so far as to mimic her speech patterns, as well as her obsessive tendencies regarding Gray Fullbuster. However there is a chance that this is an elaborate ruse to throw me off the scent and disrupt my perfect score. While it's true no other warm fuzzies follow this speech pattern, that may be because Juvia is such a clever wizard that she managed to overcome her speech pattern and disguise her warm fuzzy among the other ones."

Erza paused for dramatic effect again.

"However, I hypothesise that only Juvia would be clever enough to mimic her own style so perfectly in an intricate double bluff, designed to rule her out of contention, when in fact it was her this whole time! The attention to detail is too sophisticated for the rest of those slobs, she even managed to parody herself by throwing in the 'love rivals' line. Truly, this was the work of the mastermind, Juvia."

Erza confidently unpinned Juvia's warm fuzzy and her photo, placing them down with Elfman's.

"Two down, seven to go!" Erza boasted to the empty room, pushing a few loose strands of hair out of her eyes.

 _Dear Erza,_

 _You are too hot for me to touch, and I've tried many times with consistently bad results. It's not so much that I get burned, as much as I get beaten to a bloody pulp. But girl, that just makes me even more addicted to you. You are perfection. I love that my charm and amazing good looks have no effect, I just have to up my game until I can finally land you._

 _My favourite memory of you was that one time when you screwed up your ex-quip and were left with nothing-_

Erza coughed in embarrassment, "Anyway, the jury gets the idea. While this too could be a clever ruse by somebody to fool me, I can vouch for the fact that Loke and I were the only ones present for the incident mentioned in the warm fuzzy. Loke promised to never divulge what happened that day, and he knows the cost of crossing me…" Erza trailed off menacingly, once again only to the benefit of an imaginary audience.

Erza quickly snatched exhibit C, and the glamour shot of Loke that he insisted she use for her personal files, and put them on the table.

"From here on out it gets a little more difficult, however I'm confident I can narrow it down further." Erza continued informing the court room.

 _Dear Erza,_

 _You are a goddess in human form. It's just my luck that I have to share a guild with the most perfect wizard ever to walk Earth Land. Seriously, could you be any more pure? Sometimes I can't even look you in the eye, you put me and everyone else to shame by the way you carry yourself and lead the guild._

 _It's tough living in your shadow, but if I had to live in someone's, I'm happy that it's yours. You are so far above everyone else, yet you are still so kind and friendly. No matter how busy you are, no matter how many missions you have piled up, or responsibilities you're juggling, or fights you're separating, you still find the time to talk with your friends, myself included._

 _You could have left me behind years ago, but you're still here, picking me up, and helping me forward. Thank you._

 _-Anonymous_

Erza traced the strings connecting the letter to a picture of her main suspect, Cana.

"The writer can be narrowed down a couple of ways" Erza began officially. "The two key clues that are presented are the nature of our relationship, and the length of our relationship. The writer appears to view me as some kind of role model, which I believe reasonably eliminates Gajeel, Happy, Natsu, and Gray. While my relationship with them is good, I wouldn't say they live in my shadow, that element of relatability would lead me to suspect the writer is female. Juvia is already accounted for, and the writer makes a note that 'you could have left me behind years ago', which eliminates Lucy who I only met last year."

Erza proudly snatched Cana's photo and warm fuzzy off the wall, feeling a little more confident in her leap of faith than she had been a few hours ago. She stepped back to inspect her display again, five notes remained with five mug shots staring back at her, taunting her. Erza bit her lip in frustration, rubbing at her aching eyes, what kind of example would she be setting if she didn't win?

 _Dear Erza,_

 _You have been nothing short of inspirational since the moment we met. Your power, both through your magic, and the force of your personality, is unmatched. I truly believe you are the strongest wizard in Fiore._

 _I can't think of a single time you've let me, or any of your comrades, down. You're such a perfect person, and an amazing leader. I wish I could be more like you._

 _I'll never forget the first time we met, I had thought Natsu and Gray were untameable, chaotic wrecking balls. And then you walked in. You control the uncontrollable, defeat the undefeatable, lead the unleadable, and do it all with the greatest of ease. Incredible._

 _-Anonymous_

Silence stretched through Erza's bedroom. Like a frozen computer, Erza's brain tried rebooting itself, suddenly overcome by fatigue. After a few seconds she swallowed, and ploughed ahead, albeit a little more awkwardly.

"Er, this is from Lucy, I think. Natsu and Gray are mentioned in the note, which cuts them out, Happy would never compliment anyone, and Gajeel would never admit someone is stronger than him."

Erza reached out to grab the note but hesitated before ripping it off the wall. There was that word again, 'perfect'. She kept reading it over and over: 'perfect manliness', 'perfect shining star', 'you are perfection', 'the most perfect wizard', 'such a perfect person'. Erza's hand trembled as she removed the note. _Perfect…it's not that easy._

Erza's vision went hazy as tears of exhaustion built up in her eyes. _Why can't I sit back and enjoy a simple activity with my friends? Why do I force myself to be a role model 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year after year after year…?_

Erza shook her head, blinking away the tears. _They need me to be perfect, I won't let my friends down._

Her attention returned to the task at hand, the remaining warm fuzzies pinned to the wall. They were four very short, very similar, messages.

"Exhibit F!"

 _You stink! Stinky! You smell like poop!_

 _-Lucy_

"Exhibit G!"

 _Scarlet, you're not so tough, I could definitely beat you up if I wasn't worried about hurting you too bad._

"Exhibit H!"

 _Dear Erza,_

 _I'm not scared of you! I will FREEZE you if you don't watch out. I think you smell bad and look weird! Stop telling me not to STRIP all the time._

 _-Mistery Man_

"Exhibit I!"

 _Yo Erza! I will burn u too a crisp! Next time u see me, lets fite! Unless ur too scared of my fire! Its alrite too run away!_

 _-Anonemus_

For the first time that night, Erza smiled after reading these last four messages. Her initial reaction many hours ago had been to tear them up, but eventually she'd settled down and stuck them back together. A burning desire to find the culprits behind these cold pricklies had only fuelled her passion for completing the activity. But now, Erza couldn't stop a small laugh from escaping her. These four didn't view her as a role model, they saw her as an equal, a friend that they could taunt like they always did to each other. For the first time, Erza didn't feel empowered or strengthened by what she was reading, she just felt accepted.

Erza traced the insults lightly with her fingers, smile growing by the second. In some twisted way, not being called perfect had been a huge relief. They were still going to pay, of course.

Erza coughed and turned back to her imaginary jury. "Sorry for that interruption. Exhibit F is a cold prickly, targeting my scent. The language used is very childish which I think reasonably eliminates Gajeel and Gray. On top of that, it is signed as 'Lucy' in a terrible attempt at framing her, a trademark of Happy the Exceed."

Erza smiled as she removed the warm fuzzy and scrunched up Happy's picture. She had a good idea of how to pay the cat back.

"Exhibit G is another cold prickly, although not so randomly petty as the last. The writer states their belief that they are stronger than me, but claims they haven't asserted that fact up until now because they are worried about my wellbeing. Due to the fact that this note is written without any spelling mistakes, and the fact that Natsu tries to fight me regardless of the outcome constantly, I think he can be eliminated from contention here.

While the sharp language used seems more reminiscent of Gajeel, I'll leave it and move on to the next exhibit before making a final decision between Gajeel and Gray."

Erza paused to allow her fantasy audience a chance to gasp and mutter that she hadn't nailed this cold prickly. Erza waited a moment before frowning and waving her hand to get silence.

"Alright, alright, enough. Exhibit H is a surprising note that I have trouble getting my head around. Due to the references to using ice magic, and stripping, it would appear to be from Gray. But, something feels off, the random capitalisation, the juvenile insults, and the spelling mistake at the end. Of course, it could be that Gray really is too intimidated in real life to use those insults…I'll also leave this open until later."

The fantasy crowd gasped again.

"Finally, Exhibit I appears to be from Natsu, based on its awful spelling and references to fire magic. Natsu is fearless, and I knew he wouldn't resist the opportunity to ruin my warm fuzzy box, this is an open and shut case."

Erza confidently removed Natsu and his cold prickly from the wall. Something didn't feel quite right about her deduction, but Erza couldn't stand Natsu's arrogant grin mocking her any longer.

"Going back now, I can't help but feel Gray is too clever to make reference to his own ice magic and stripping, he knows the consequences of crossing me…I suspect Exhibit H is an attempt to frame Gray to get amusement from me punishing him. Since Natsu is already accounted for, that must mean Gajeel sent Exhibit H, leaving Gray with the more subtle Exhibit G."

Erza clapped her hands in triumph, burying the suspicion she'd made a mistake somewhere. Of course it didn't matter who had framed who, they were all going to get pummelled tomorrow anyway.

Erza yawned as she collapsed into her bed, not bothering to change out of her clothes. _What an interesting bunch of messages, I've got some thinking to do before going to the guild tomorrow…today…in two hours…damn it._

* * *

 **NEXT TIME: Loke gets abducted!**

 **I think Erza might have missed the point of the activity…**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone. I had this chapter written and finished a week ago…and then I scrapped it and started again. It was too similar to Gray's and I wanted everyone to be different.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Baby, if I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put 'U' and 'I' together."

Loke smirked as the beautiful brunette he had tucked under one arm giggled at his cheesy line.

"Hey! You already said that to me!"

Loke flashed a sparkling smile at the blonde under his other arm. "Haven't you ever heard of a 'W'? Don't worry girls, there's plenty of love to go around."

The girls giggled again and snuggled up closer, subtly fighting for position on his chest.

"Another drink, Loke?"

Loke nodded at the eager lad, sending him sprinting off to fulfil the request. Loke had no idea who he was personally, he was just another leech that wanted to benefit from being seen in his presence at the club. Not that it bothered Loke, he'd rather have guys buying him drinks than women, you never knew what the latter would try and slip in them.

"Lokeeee, how come you were so late? I thought you'd forgotten about us." The brunette pouted, bottom lip quivering in false sadness.

"Girls, girls, I could never forget about you. I just had some business to attend to, you know how it is being the ace of the top guild in Fiore."

The blonde giggled, but the brunette continued pouting. "You weren't hanging around those ugly Fairy Tail skanks were you? Ugh, they are so manly!"

"Fighting is so unattractive, just like them!"

The girls cackled together while Loke laughed along half-heartedly.

"Well, I mean, they were there, but I was thinking about you girls the entire time."

"Oh Loke..." They swooned together, clinging to him tighter.

"Your drink, Loke!" The guy was back, announcing his arrival as loudly as possible so his voice would carry to bystanders over the loud music.

"Thanks, pal."

The man scurried away, clearly pleased with how the offering had went. The stranger confidently sidled over to the bar and began to try his luck with some girls who had been watching the exchange.

Loke took a sip of the vicious liquid, it tore his throat to shreds, he felt like he could breathe fire. Despite this, it was going down easier than the first few had. He had upped the toxicity on his usual order to make up for lost time, it was nearly midnight and he was still…feeling…

"Slow down, Loke. Don't you want to be at the top of your game for later?" The brunette asked seductively.

"Of course!" Loke lied through his teeth. "I'm just getting started. You girls have any friends, or sisters, you want to invite?"

"Aren't we good enough?" The blonde whined, tracing circles on Loke's mid-section.

"You girls are amazing, but the more the merrier, you know? I wouldn't want to deprive anyone of my company."

The girls eyed Loke doubtfully, but the blonde shook it off first and promised to go ask around. Not wanting to fall out of favour, the brunette quickly followed suit, both leaving him with a kiss on the cheek.

Loke sighed as he watched their retreating bodies disappear into the sweaty mass of humanity on the dance floor. The moist feeling on his cheeks suggested there'd been physical contact, but he couldn't escape this haunting feeling that there was a barrier between him and everyone else. He reached out his hand to touch, to feel, but his fingertips remained numb. It hadn't always been this way. Loke screwed up his face, trying to recall when he'd stopped taking pleasure from this lifestyle. The answer evaded him.

It had been a slippery slope for Loke. At some point, a girl every now and then hadn't been enough, he'd needed a girl a night, then two, and now even that couldn't shatter this thick fog. He'd turned to alcohol, a couple of drinks at first, and then more. Soon he found he needed to be intoxicated to feel again, albeit only briefly. What frightened him most about the situation was that he wasn't scared of the women, or the booze, or any of the consequences of the two put together. He was now scared of himself, scared of his own judgement.

The only escape from this spiral was Fairy Tail. When he walked through those doors he could finally breathe. Energy would rush through him, the faces of his friends dispelled all his fears and worries. Loke smiled as he remembered his comrades fondly, Cana, her cheeky, twinkling eyes flashing at him from over a barrel. Lucy, her kind spirit that could lull him to sleep. Erza, her ferocious beauty that commanded attention. Juvia, her- well, she was Gray's girl, better to not think those things. Mira, someone he could talk to for hours and hours. The others, who were also there.

Life was passing too quickly for Loke, his friends were growing up too fast, in the blink of an eye they were practically adults, how long before they left him too? Everyone left him in the end, the grave was an unforgiving mistress that had no interest in courting him, only his friends. No, relationships that were destined to die weren't worth his time, what mattered was pleasure. Dirty, immediate, pleasure.

The girls came back into view with a red-head in tow.

"Welcome back, ladies." Loke smirked confidently as the trio settled around him. "Did any of you pretty girls happen to bring me a"-

Loke found three shot glasses instantly thrust at him.

"Nice!" He chuckled, downing the first.

"Say, Loke, isn't it time we moved somewhere a little more private?" The brunette purred into his ear.

Loke raised an eyebrow as he threw back the second shot. "A bit eager aren't we?"

"We don't wanna share you with anyone else!" The blonde pouted, eyeing the newcomer warily.

The red-head smiled sweetly back at her, soaking in the antagonism. If Loke looked close enough, he could see where her makeup ended and her face began, like cracks in a mask. Loke decided he didn't want to look close enough.

"Well then, let's head out." Loke shrugged, finishing the third shot. "H-hey, hey you! A bottle for the road!"

"A bottle of what?" The bartender sighed.

"A bottle ovv whateverrr!" Loke snapped at him. "Put it on my tab!"

"As you wish, Master Loke." The bartender grabbed the most expensive thing he could find and handed it over the counter.

The girls laughed uproariously at another of Loke's jokes as they stumbled out onto the street. Loke found himself tripping over his feet as they walked down the alleyway, the alcohol suddenly hitting him like a freight train.

"You gurls jidn't slip me anythink did youse?" Loke mumbled, blinking rapidly to try and clear his head after falling over for the third time in a minute. If they responded, Loke didn't hear them. The walk home went by in a dizzy delirium, scenes and conversations jumbled all over the place. A smashed bottle against a lamppost. Brunette's heels getting thrown in the river. A decrepit landlady threatening to make an official complaint. And finally, dropping his house keys as he tried mashing them haphazardly against the lock. The messy group eventually rolled inside, knocking over anything and everything in their staggering, dizzying, trek to the bedroom.

"Make yourselvvvz comfortorable, comfafable, comfbatle, …comfy. I'll be back in a sec." Loke assured his guests as he u-turned out of the room. He bounced off the walls of his hallway, but eventually fumbled his way into the kitchen, scrambling for one more drink. He snaked his arm around in the dark until his fingers curled around something metallic. He pulled the can out in eagerness, only to find it was one of Elfman's full-strength beers. Loke wrinkled his nose and went to put it back, when high-pitched, squealing laughter reached him from the bedroom. Loke grimaced and cracked the can open, attempting to chug the vile concoction down in one go, but he ended up choking and spitting most of it out after a few seconds.

"OK, I think I've seen about enough."

Loke spun around, eyes wide from hearing the foreign voice.

"Who said that? Who's there?"

CRACK

Loke slumped to the ground, an egg forming on his skull. The blue-haired intruder tutted under her breath, dropped the rolling pin, and picked up the unconscious Loke.

"Come on, you bloody idiot. You're in big trouble."

 **OoOoO**

Loke jerked awake, eyes blinking rapidly to adjust to the light. He tried to recall what had happened, but his head was throbbing unbearably, so he closed his eyes again and tried going back to sleep.

"Oh no you don't!"

A wave of water splashed against Loke's face.

"Uhhhh, leave me alone, Candy."

"Candy!? I'm not one of your bimbo stripper friends!"

Loke's eyes snapped open, wide awake now. He found himself bound tightly to a chair.

"W-what the? What's going on? Where am I?"

Aquarius slid into his field of vision, looking more annoyed than usual.

"This is an intervention. I've taken you to the Spirit World. You've embarrassed yourself long enough."

Loke grinned, regaining some of his composure.

"An intervention? Who says I need an intervention? Maybe you're just playing out some fantasy, tying me up here…"

Aquarius shuddered in disgust, before motioning with her hand. Capricorn, Gemini, Cancer, Scorpio, and Aries, all moved into view.

"Ugh, too many dudes." Loke frowned. "Oh, g'day, Aries. How you doin'?"

"None of that either!" Aquarius scowled blocking Aries from his view and throwing another pitcher of water over him.

"STOP THAT!"

Aquarius narrowed her eyes at his outburst and lunged forward, grabbing Loke by the collar and lifting him into the air, chair and all.

"Do you have no shame? Have you given any consideration to the incredible gift given to you by the Spirit King that you're currently pissing away? You're damn lucky we're intervening before he finds out what you've been up to."

Loke gulped, he was secretly grateful that this intervention wasn't by official order of the Spirit King, but he wasn't going to admit that.

"It's my life, I can do with it whatever I want." Loke barked back, looking Aquarius straight in the eye.

Aquarius sighed, placed Loke back down on the ground gently, and slapped him across the face as hard as she could.

"Kinky." Loke muttered.

Aquarius' eyes flashed and she raised her hand again, but Cancer and Scorpio quickly latched onto her and dragged her away from him. Capricorn stepped forward and squatted down so he was eye-level with the despondent captive.

"What happened, brother? You're supposed to be our leader-"

"Oh don't pin that on me, I never asked for that! I was never meant for that kind of responsibility!" Loke sneered.

Aries stepped out from behind the struggling Aquarius, frowning.

"Why do you always have such low expectations of yourself?"

"It's because he's a big coward." Aquarius chimed in coldly. "It's the same with women, any time you've gotten close to Cana or Lucy or Erza you've intentionally screwed it up by acting like a horny teenager. You're so scared they'll reject you, the real you, that you magnify this fake persona for them to reject. Do you sleep better at night, never letting anyone in? Pathetic."

"Aquarius!" Aries scolded.

Aquarius turned her back on them and moved away. "I've had enough of looking at this idiot. I'm sick of cleaning up his messes. If the king finds out, good riddance."

Loke smiled cheerfully at the remaining spirits.

"Well, I guess I'll be going then? I have some urgent business to attend to…"

"Just because Aquarius is through with you, doesn't mean we are." Capricorn replied solemnly. "What do your Fairy Tail comrades think about your night activities?"

For the first time, Loke shifted his glance off to the side, he didn't want to see his reflection in Capricorn's sunglasses.

"They don't know."

"Ashamed, are we?"

"No! I do what I want!"

"So why don't they know?"

"Because they'd probably do something stupid like this!"

Scorpio stepped forward angrily. "Ohh geee! Well if your spirit friends think you need help, and you know your human friends would think you need help, then you must be fine!"

"It's none of their business, and it's none of your business." Loke replied coolly. "Besides…'friends' is such a strong term…I'm not really that close to anyone from Fairy Tail."

"Oh, Loke…" Aries sighed sadly.

"What?"

"Of course they're your friends, idiot." Scorpio growled. "You know that, you just hate yourself so damn much you can't admit it."

"Is that why you're doing this, Leo? Are you punishing yourself?" Capricorn asked sternly.

Loke burst out laughing.

"W-what? 'Punishing'? I drink whenever I want, I have all the women I want, I"-

"Really? Is that what you really want?" Aries asked softly.

Loke opened his mouth, but struggled to find the right words.

"Before you tell another lie…" Capricorn grabbed Gemini and threw them at Loke.

"H-hey!"

Gemini transformed into a perfect double of Loke.

"Well?" Capricorn asked Gemini expectantly.

Loke's stomach dropped as he saw the colour drain out of Gemini-Loke's face, he sat silently as he watched his own body start to cry.

"He's…lonely."

A long silence stretched between the group.

"That was dirty." Loke muttered, eyes lowered to the ground now.

"Check his pockets." Gemini announced suddenly.

Capricorn raised an eyebrow, but complied, searching around the inside of Loke's jacket.

"Hey! Knock it off, goat!"

"What have we here?" Capricorn produced a bunch of folded papers.

Loke was surprised to see the warm fuzzies from earlier, he'd completely forgotten they were there.

"They are warm fuzzies." Gemini explained. "It was an activity that Master Makarov made Fairy Tail do. These are anonymous messages from his guild mates that he hasn't read yet. Loke is too scared to find out what they think of him."

"I am not!"

"Well then, if you're not scared, I'll just go ahead and read them out loud." Capricorn mused.

"That's not what I meant!"

"Are we embarrassing Leo?" Aquarius wandered back over, having cooled down considerably.

"NO!"

Capricorn cleared his throat.

 _Dear Loke,_

 _I'll never say this to your face, so pay attention. I think you're really cool. Now you may think I'm talking about your designer shades or your stupid jacket. I'm not. The way you leap into fights to protect others is a constant source of inspiration to me. You're a hell of a fighter, and a champion of one of Fairy Tail's proudest traits: Never backing down. I'm proud to consider you a mentor and friend._

 _You seem a little down lately, so if ever need someone to talk to, well, I'm here. I know you'll have my back in the S-class trials, let someone help you for a change._

 _-Anonymous_

Loke remained quiet, focusing intently on the ground. Capricorn waited for a response, but when none was forthcoming he moved on.

 _Dear Idiot,_

 _What am I ever going to do with you?_

 _If I'm not scolding Cana for boozing in front of the kids, I'm reprimanding you for sleazing. I swear you two are made for each other. I know there's a responsible leader in you somewhere, but any time I catch a glimpse of him, a glimpse of the real you, you plaster over with this ridiculous playboy act._

 _And don't think that I'm unaware of what's been going on with you lately. A woman ALWAYS knows. I was hoping you could sort your own problems out like a big boy, but that clearly hasn't happened. This will be my first and last warning, defeat your personal demons, or I will be getting your friends involved. You're a proud man, Loke, I don't want to bring Lucy or Gray into this. They look up to you so much._

 _You're courageous, kind, and selfless, all to a fault. Learn to let other people in._

 _-Anonymous_

This time Loke did react, snorting. "No cold pricklies, she says…"

Capricorn turned to Gemini for an explanation.

"He thinks Erza sent that message."

This time it was Capricorn's turn to snort. "You think this was a...a cold prickly? The only reason she was being harsh with you is because she knows you're capable of so much more!"

Loke continued to look off in the distance like a troublesome child, cornered by his parents.

"Can I read one?" Aquarius asked eagerly.

"Sure."

"Hey!"

 _Dear Loke_

 _Juvia hasn't had the chance to talk to you very much, you are a very busy man. Juvia is a little jealous of how popular you are, when you walk into the guild everyone becomes happier. Maybe you don't notice, but a line forms to come talk to you. Romeo and Wendy want to hear about your adventures, Macao and Wakaba want to know about your romantic quests, you are Reedus' favourite model for paintings, Natsu wants to fight you, Happy wants to hear one of your jokes, Cana wants a drinking buddy, how is Juvia supposed to squeeze in through all that? And don't get Juvia started on Gray! You are practically a love rival due to the amount of attention you attract from him, he is always talking about your adventures together._

 _You are the pulse of Fairy Tail._

 _Stop stealing Gray from me!_

 _-Anonymous_

"Oi! These were supposed to be embarrassing, what the hell was that mush?" Aquarius grumbled.

"Here, try this one." Capricorn smiled, handing her a warm fuzzy that he'd glanced over while she was reading.

 _Kitty Cat. Your stupid playboy act seriously pisses me off. Yes, you read correctly, 'act'. Choose a mate and stick to her, before I gut you._

"HA! 'Kitty Cat', I'll remember that one!" Aquarius cackled.

"Oh, great…" Loke muttered. "Stop reading my personal mail!"

"We'll stop, just admit that you have a problem, and together we'll try and help you recover." Capricorn offered.

Loke mulled it over for a second, he had to concede things were running downhill for him. The more he thought about it with a clear head, the more things seemed to point back to the revelation of his true identity, Leo, The Lion. Being Loke was so easy, so fun, he'd been scared of resuming the responsibilities that came with being the leader of the Celestial Spirits, scared that people would treat him differently, expect things of him he couldn't achieve. He wanted to just be Loke so badly that he'd intensified the persona, lived it with everything he had. Loke opened his mouth to apologise, to reform, but then his stubborn streak kicked in. _I don't have to listen to these jerks, I'm Loke, I do whatever I want. They're just jealous._

Loke raised his head slowly. "No problems here, goat. I'm just living life to the fullest."

Capricorn smiled sadly, "So be it. Next please, Aquarius."

 _Yo Loke! Lets fite! Come on pritty boy! Actually I like that u do fite with us heaps, u pretend u dont like it but u do! Even if u spend all ur time with girls for sum reason, ur still one of the boys. Getting ur power from a ring is a bit lame thou._

 _Dont hurt Lucy, I wont hold back if u make her cry._

 _-Mistery Man_

Aquarius shuddered. "That was…nightmarish, to read."

Loke didn't respond, his mind racing about the last line of the message.

"Can I read one?" Scorpio asked.

"Sure."

 _LOKE! BE MANLIER LIKE ME! RING MAGIC IS FOR WOMEN! REAL MEN FIGHT WITH THEIR FISTS! BUT REAL MEN ALSO FIGHT FOR THEIR FRIENDS SO YOU ARE STILL A BIT MANLY! TOUCH MIRA AND I WILL END YOU!_

"Don't yell! I was listening!"

"That's how it's written!" Scorpio defended, showing Loke the warm fuzzy.

"Got a problem with how my boyfriend reads?" Aquarius asked menacingly.

"N-no!"

"Can I have a turn?" Aries asked.

"I would also like to join." Cancer added.

"No! Me next!" Gemini butted in. "I only have a minute before I lose this body!"

"Come on, guys, leave me alone!" Loke pleaded.

"Here you go, Gemini." Capricorn gave Gemini a warm fuzzy, ignoring Loke.

Loke was forced to sit and watch a mirror image of himself read the embarrassing message out loud.

 _Loke! You can't fool me! Just kiss Gray already!_

Aquarius and Scorpio burst out laughing, Aries blushed, and Capricorn and Cancer exchanged bemused looks.

"I'm not in love with Gray!" Loke yelled, to more laughter. "You can ask Gemini!"

As Loke said this, Gemini morphed back into its original form.

"Oh that's just great!" Loke raged. "As soon as you might actually be useful to me you go and transform!"

Gemini shrugged their shoulders at him.

"My turn!" Aries chimed in.

"Oh come on, Aries, not you too!"

"What's the problem, Loke? I thought you didn't consider your Fairy Tail comrades as friends?"

Loke reddened in shame at his earlier words. "It's not like that! I mean, I like them. I was just saying that I'm not really in the inner circle there, I don't have a strong relationship with anyone, it's better that way."

"Really?" Aries replied flatly, not believing the rubbish that Loke was spewing.

 _Dear Loke,_

 _I'm very happy to get this chance to speak to you, it's been a little difficult lately. You're one of my most trusted friends, but getting a straight conversation out of you is practically impossible. What is going on? I worry about you, Loke, you're a kind and caring soul, so caring I don't think you like burdening others with your problems. Please remember, that's what friends are for. We all want to shoulder whatever is eating you from the inside._

 _I know you care a lot about being cool, but no one will think less of you if you let your barriers down._

 _Let us help you._

 _-Anonymous_

A tear ran down Loke's cheek. Aries' quivering voice had been the perfect touch to the heart-wrenching message. He sat quietly, trying to distract himself by wondering who had sent it, by his estimation it was down to either Cana or Lucy.

"Any comment?" Capricorn added coolly.

Loke glared at him, aggravated. "Leave me alone. You've achieved what you wanted, everyone thinks I'm a basket-case to pity. I get it, I'm a mess."

"No, you idiot!" Aquarius' eyes flashed dangerously again. "Everyone wants to help you. They don't pity you, they care about you."

Loke trembled underneath the ropes that bound him. He didn't even know what he was arguing any more, or why.

Capricorn lowered himself down to Loke's eye-level again. "How many of these messages have been people complimenting your hair or your clothes, or anything about your appearance? How many people have written how cool it is that you're always surrounded by women? None. They praised your bravery in battle, and your kindness outside of it."

More tears rolled down Loke's face, emotions he'd spent months suppressing were fighting their way out, his chest ached under the pressure.

"I…I can't. I can't live up to their expectations anymore, I'm going to fail them. I'm not cut out to be a leader."

Aquarius lowered herself down this time, shoulder-to-shoulder with Capricorn. "Don't be afraid, Leo." She spoke uncharacteristically softly. "You're acting like a leader has to stand on an impossibly high pedestal. It's as if leadership means you can't make mistakes, or that you'd never be able to laugh again... You're so worried about what others think of you that you've forgotten who you are, and what you can do."

"W-what?" Loke blinked blearily at her, his eyes red.

"There is no Loke, and there is no Leo. They are not separate entities." Capricorn explained gently. "You're so afraid of being Leo that you try to be Loke, and you're so miserable as Loke that you wish you could be Leo. Have you forgotten that you are you? The Leo I know, and the Loke Fairy Tail knows, is a light-hearted flirt, who would jump into a fight to protect his friends without the slightest regard for his own safety. That is who you are. Not the washed-up drunk we dragged here, and not the immaculate paragon of virtue you think you have to be."

Before Loke could say anything, Cancer cut the ropes binding him.

"We aren't the boss of you, Leo." Cancer explained.

"Whether you listen to us or not is up to you, I just needed you to sit still long enough to say my piece." Capricorn clarified. "You're free to go."

Loke nodded silently, but as he turned to leave, Aquarius grabbed his wrist.

"You'll be wanting this." Aquarius offered Loke the final warm fuzzy.

"Thanks." Loke choked out, before hastily departing.

Once he was far enough away, Loke unfolded the final piece of paper.

 _Dear Loke,_

 _You are, without a doubt, my favourite person at Fairy Tail. You're funny, charming (sometimes), wise, and thoughtful. I love the way you make time for everyone that likes talking to you, I can see from afar how happy you make other people._

 _I guess that's why it hurts so much to see that the opposite isn't true for you. Your eyes have grown dull, tired. I know you've always enjoyed the nightlife, but I fear it's consuming you. I don't know what to say. What to do. I don't want to mother you, or drive you away. I know how touchy you can get. No, don't deny it you big baby, you can be as strong as steel and as fragile as glass at the same time. It's just one of those mysteries that make up the enigma of Loke._

 _I tried solving you once, I didn't get very far. I think you panicked because you immediately started talking about your various…conquests, and so I dropped it. It's weird, I feel you know me back to front, understand my hopes, my dreams, my goals. But when it comes to you, I don't know a single one of your goals. I don't think anyone does._

 _So, I challenge you. I challenge you to have a real conversation with me, tomorrow at the guild._

 _xoxo_

 _-Anonymous_

Loke materialised back into his home in Magnolia. _I've got a lot of thinking to do before- Oh come on!_

Loke was greeted by the sunrise.

"Damn Spirit World flow of time!" Loke yelled at no one in particular. He sighed deeply, fixed his hair in the mirror, and trudged out the door on his way to Fairy Tail.

* * *

 **NEXT TIME! Happy and Natsu have an argument!**

 **Thank you for reading! Let me know what you thought by dropping a review!**


	7. Chapter 7

"He liiiiiiiiikes her!" Happy teased, flying away.

"Shut it, cat! It's not like that at all!" Gray yelled indignantly.

Happy spread his wings and spiralled out into the night sky, soaring high above Magnolia, giggling between his paws. Gray was such an easy target to annoy.

Happy curved his wings to hover on the breeze, the twinkling city spread out below him, a treasure trove of fun just waiting for him to plunder.

Spotting a target, Happy dive-bombed a happy couple strolling along the river bank, swooping between them as they looked lovingly into each other's eyes.

The girl screamed in fright, before yelling a string of expletives at Happy as he soared away laughing.

He continued travelling along the river, eventually the sounds of a battling fisherman pricked Happy's ears.

"Ahhh, I've finally gotcha! You fought hard, but in the end you were no match for- HEY! GIMME BACK MY FISH!"

"The Blue Phantom strikes again!" Happy mumbled through the stolen fish in his mouth.

 _Life is amazing. Oh wait, no it isn't, my magic is nearly out. Where's Natsu?_

Happy begrudgingly spat the fish out to ascend again, circling slowly to find his partner-in-crime, and most reliable mode of transportation. In a few seconds he spotted the distinctive salmon hair and raced towards him.

"NATSUUUUUUUUU!"

"Hm? Whoa, Happy!"

Natsu leapt up to catch the incoming blue missile, rocketing towards the wall of a nearby building, having expended all of his magic.

Natsu touched back down, cradling his best friend in his arms.

"What's up?" Happy grinned cheekily.

"Hey little buddy! I was wondering where you went. And then I heard some lady scream"-

"It was me."

"Nice."

Happy clawed up Natsu's vest to nestle in over his shoulder.

"You're getting a bit big, Happy. Maybe it's time we put you on a diet." Natsu teased.

"BOOOO! Did Erza tell you to say that? I'm going to shed in her cheesecake!"

"Oh you will not, quit talking rubbish, Happy."

The two argued back and forward over who was more scared of Erza until they reached their home on the outskirts of Magnolia.

"Wha-? Why are we at this dump? Can't we stay at Lucy's?" Happy asked, wrinkling his nose as they drew nearer.

"Oi! And no. Lucy wanted to read the dumb warm fuzzies on her own I guess.

"When has that stopped us before?" Happy suggested slyly, but Natsu had already opened the front door.

"I dunno, she seemed serious this time. She's actually been acting weird a lot lately."

"Lucy is a weirdo!"

"Yeah I know, but like…super weird."

Their house was just as they had left it, looking like a bombsite. Dirty dishes filled the sink, papers covered the table, and a variety of 'treasures' from previous missions were scattered across the floor. Happy hopped off Natsu's shoulder and arched his back, stalking over to the fireplace and nudging it until Natsu got the hint.

"Alright, alright!" Natsu blew a fireball at the wood, igniting the fireplace in a brilliant blaze of orange. Also in the line of fire were a lot of papers haphazardly piled up next to the fireplace for some reason.

"Uh oh." Natsu quickly ran over and stomped them out, eventually killing the errant flames.

"What were they?" Happy yawned.

"Bills, I think." Natsu inspected the ashes shrewdly.

Happy began to doze off before Natsu kicked him.

"What was that for?"

"Aren't you going to read your warm fuzzies?"

Happy laid back down and tried going back to sleep.

"Oi! I'm being serious!"

"Uhhh, I think they are at the guild."

"No, I brought them."

"Rats."

Natsu placed them down in front of Happy, and walked over to the table with his. Happy watched as Natsu began to slowly read his messages, sporadically bursting out laughing, or jumping up in a fit of rage. After a few minutes Natsu looked over and noticed Happy hadn't moved.

"Happy? Why aren't you reading?"

"Too boring, don't care."

"Aw come on, Happy. These are really funny, don't you want to know what your guild mates think of you?"

Happy shook his head lazily, although his interest was piqued when a conflicted expression suddenly crossed Natsu's face. Natsu having two emotions at once was a rare sight indeed.

Natsu pocketed his warm fuzzies and walked over to the fireplace, dropping to the floor cross-legged next to Happy. Happy rolled onto his back to look up at him curiously.

"You know, Happy, we"-

"Nooo, Natsu, don't be serious, it doesn't suit you at all!"

"HAHAH Be quiet already! You're ruining my speech!"

Happy covered his ears and began singing loudly to block Natsu out.

"We've been at the guild for"-

-"ONE FISH TWO FISH RED FISH BLUE FISH"-

-"I mean I eventually buried the hatchet"-

-"I'M BLUE DA BA DEE DA BA DIE!"-

-"and people do change over time, it's inevitable that"-

-"BECAUSE I'M HAPPY, CLAP ALONG IF YOU FEEL LIKE"-

-"Alright! That's enough!"

Natsu piled on Happy, wrapping him up in a hug. Happy giggled as he tried to squirm out of Natsu's hold, but he only ended up provoking Natsu into tickling him mercilessly.

"OK OK! You win, you win!" Happy squeaked, crying with laughter.

"That's more like it…" Natsu grinned triumphantly, he feigned putting Happy back down, but then threw him up in the air at the last moment.

"… But I oughta chuck you out the window for that blue song! So bad!"

"Noooo, Lucy told me it! I swear!"

After a few more throws, Natsu did put Happy back down and they spread out on the floor next to each other, panting.

"Ok, Happy, ready to listen now?"

Happy sighed, "Uhhh, I guess."

Natsu sat up and grabbed Happy, placing him on his knee so they could talk face-to-face.

"We've been at the guild for a long time. You've been at the guild for your entire life. We have lots of great memories there together."

Happy frowned slightly and tugged on the sleeve of Natsu's arm.

"Natsu, you're scaring me."

Natsu smiled widely, showing Happy everything was ok. Happy continued to look slightly perturbed, but remained silent.

"We've been teammates together, travelled together, laughed together, Happy, you will always be my best friend. In the beginning, I just wanted to burn the world to the ground, my fuse was so damn short I'd lose my temper over anything. I was so frustrated that I couldn't find Igneel, and then I met bossy Erza and droopy-eyes Gray, I just wanted to punch them square in the face. On those days, you were the only thing keeping me sane."

Happy brightened a little. "I wanted you to punch Erza too!"

"HAHAH! Right! I distinctly remember you egging me on, telling me how great I was. Did you really believe that or were you winding me up to get hurt?"

Happy laughed into his paws, all but answering Natsu's question.

Natsu burst out laughing again. "She got you a fair few times as well, remember when she was swinging you around by the tail as a club to beat up Elfman?"

"NO!" Happy lied, subconsciously rubbing his behind.

Eventually the two stopped laughing and Natsu coughed nervously and resumed.

"Yeah, so even though things got off to a rocky start, I eventually buried the hatchet with a lot of those guys. Erza is like a sister to me, the Old Man is like an old man, Mira is nice now, and even Ice Princess is bearable to stand near. Plus I made new friends like Juvia and Gaje- I mean just Juvia!"

Happy laughed into his paws again at Natsu's slip up.

"He liiiiiikes him!"

"No way!" Natsu grabbed Happy, ready to launch into another wrestling match, but remembered what he was supposed to be doing and released him.

"Yeah, so I made a lot of friends along the way, we have a family now. I've changed as a person over time. We used to go on missions together by ourselves, but now we have Lucy and Gray and Erza tagging along. You don't mind that right?"

Happy looked up at Natsu's worried expression, something was definitely eating away at him.

"Hmmm, no I guess it's OK, we have lots of fun adventures together!"

"R-right!" Natsu exclaimed. "I never really asked your permission to expand our team, I just kind of did it…which is why I'm asking you for permission for something now."

"Oh?" Happy smiled slyly, whatever this was, he was going to embarrass Natsu so much later. He was acting like a super weirdo. No! A mega weirdo!

"Yeah. If it's alright with you, I'm going to ask Lucy out on a date."

Natsu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, waiting for Happy's response.

Happy sat still, face blank. He had not expected this. A pang of unease gripped his insides.

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why do you want to ask Lucy out on a date?"

Natsu frowned, even though he was asking for Happy's permission, he had sort of expected him to just tell him it's OK, make fun of him, and then things would go back to normal.

"Well," Natsu began, scratching his cheek nervously, "She's pretty. And kind. And smart. I like being around her…and if we were a couple then I'd be around her more."

"No way! Lucy's ugly and stupid!"

Natsu laughed. "Don't say that, Happy! I'm being serious here!"

Once again, Natsu was surprised by Happy's demeanour, as his face saddened further.

"Whoa! What's wrong?"

Happy furrowed his brow. "I don't want things to be different. I want the old Natsu who made fun of everyone with me! He would never go out with Lucy on a date!"

Natsu smiled sadly. "Happy, I'm still me. Everyone has to grow up a little"-

"NO!" Happy jumped off Natsu's knee and stamped his foot. "I don't want you to grow up! You're going to turn into a boring geezer like everyone else!"

Natsu's smile slipped off his face. "Happy, it's very important to me that you're OK with Lucy."

"Well, I'm not." Happy crossed his arms and turned away.

"Oh." Natsu's mood had changed drastically now too.

"What about me? You're going to be doing kissy kissy stuff with Lucy, who am I going to hang out with? You two will start doing missions together and exclude me because you want to do gross adult things!"

"Happy, I'm not going to abandon you. But this warm fuzzy thing, even though it's a dumb activity, I want you to read what people sent you. You should start making more of an effort with the others so you have more friends."

"You're just trying to pawn me off to stupid Gray and stupid Erza! Were we just friends until you could find an upgrade?" Happy was trembling now, his tiny body overcome with emotion.

"It's not like that at all, Happy!"

Happy glared at Natsu through teary eyes, before taking off and flying out the window.

"HAPPY!"

Happy ignored Natsu as he flew away as fast as he could, climbing higher and higher. His eyes stung in the wind, not that it mattered, he didn't know where he was going anyway. Happy floated, lost in his own thoughts.

 _Stupid Natsu, I don't need him anyw_ a _y_. _He can go on missions with Lucy, I'll just hang out with…_

Happy sniffled as he was betrayed by his own thoughts. He really hadn't developed a relationship with any of the other guild members, they'd always just been an amusing backdrop to his and Natsu's adventures. Why would he get to know them? He and Natsu were going to be friends forever.

" _I've changed…"_

Everyone grew up, Happy knew that, but Natsu…he wasn't everyone. He was immune to being an adult, he was immune to women, he was-

 _Uh oh…_

Happy plunged, his magic exhausted once again. With a sickening thud, Happy bounced against the cobbled pavement of a back alley, tumbling head over tail until he smashed into a dumpster.

"Owwww…So this is what happens when Natsu doesn't catch me…"

Happy gingerly got to his feet and started to limp home, he hadn't flown too far. He was cold, hurt, and most importantly of all, hungry. He decided to forgive Natsu for trying to find a partner, while secretly working towards splitting them up. Natsu was his friend, Lucy can go find her own.

Happy didn't know how long it took (understanding the passage of time had never been a high priority for him) but he eventually stumbled back through the front door.

"Natsu! You can stop worrying, I'm home!"

Happy was greeted with dead silence and a still room. He frowned and closed the door behind him, walking back over to his spot by the fireplace.

 _He's probably gone to hang out with Lucy._

Tears leaked out of Happy's eyes as he curled up in front of the fire.

 _I don't want things to change._

The flames licked at Happy's body, but he felt no warmth from their touch. Happy yawned and stretched, ready to sleep until Natsu would come home and feed him, when his paw brushed against a foreign object.

 _Those stupid warm fuzzies…_

Happy giggled to himself, wiping away his tears. He'd had fun teasing people in the messages, and if his master plan came together, Erza would beat up Lucy tomorrow.

Deciding he had nothing better to do, Happy opened the note on top of the pile.

 _Furball,_

 _I'm going to rip you apart if you wrote me some trash about the Shrimp._

 _Also, you're a bad influence on Lily, he's always goofier after hanging around you._

Happy laughed, he most definitely had written some trash about Levy, but Gajeel was all bark when it came to the Exceed.

Entertained by Gajeel's message, Happy opened another.

 _CAT! I KNOW IT WAS YOU THAT SWAPPED MY VITAMINS WITH LAXATIVES! YOU CAN'T HIDE BEHIND NATSU FOREVER! FACE ME LIKE A MAN!_

"Like that'll happen!" Happy laughed, Elfman was one of his favourite targets because Natsu was always willing to jump in and start a brawl. Getting him to intercept Erza was a little more difficult though. A lump formed in Happy's throat thinking about Natsu, Elfman might actually be right for once, how could Natsu protect him if he was out on dates all the time? Happy quickly turned to the next warm fuzzy.

 _Dear Happy,_

 _You are the cutest thing I've ever seen. Whenever I see you I just want to squeeze you until you explode! Your shenanigans always make me laugh, lets collaborate sometime! I have some good ideas to get under Erza's skin._

 _xoxo_

 _-Anonymous_

Happy's eyes widened, this sounded promising. The only problem was he had no idea who sent it. Erza was a big fish to land, Happy hoped that his potential partner in crime knew what they were getting into.

 _You mangy cat! I know it was you that shredded the back of my favourite coat! Next time I catch you alone I'll drag you to the Spirit World!_

 _-Anon_

Happy cocked his head in confusion, what was so scary about the Spirit World? Then he noticed a P.S.

 _P.S The Spirit World has no fish._

Happy gasped and dropped the warm fuzzy like it was poisonous. He hastily kicked it over to the corner and breathed a sigh of relief.

Happy looked at the rest of the pile warily, the prickly-to-fuzzy ratio was getting out of hand, not that he didn't deserve it.

 _Dear Happy,_

 _You are such a lovely friend. I always enjoy your light-hearted jokes. When I see your cute little smile- OK the Master's gone. Listen you little rat, I found the advertisements you've been putting in the newspaper for me. 'Ripped ice-mage of Fairy Tail seeking love, please propose to me in a crowded public place'. I can't believe stupid girls keep falling for that! Despite what Natsu thinks, NOT FUNNY! As soon as I get you alone I'm going to skewer you and feed you to Erza._

 _-Anonymous_

Happy giggled deliriously. This was one of his favourite jokes to watch unfold. Gray would get embarrassed and splutter apologies, the girl would assume he's being shy and push up against him. If Juvia was in the vicinity she would blow a gasket. Erza would beat up Gray for conducting personal business on a mission. And Natsu would cry with laughter.

Happy's laughter died down, either way, it was now 4-1 to the cold pricklies, and what Natsu had said earlier about putting more effort into befriending the others was holding more weight.

 _Yo Happy!_

Happy immediately discarded the warm fuzzy, he didn't feel like reading anything from Natsu at the moment. He quickly grabbed the next one.

 _Dear Happy,_

 _Thank you for being so welcoming to Juvia since she has arrived at Fairy Tail. You have been nothing but kind and cheerful whenever Juvia has interacted with you. Your smile lights up the entire guild._

Juvia has a favour to ask you, actually. Can you help Juvia prank Lucy and Erza? Juvia wants them to look foolish in front of Gray. Juvia has never played pranks before and doesn't know how. Juvia knows this is an anonymous message, but Juvia will leave you a clue in the P.S to help you figure out who sent this.

 _-Anonymous_

 _P.S Water magic._

Cogs whirred inside Happy's head. He suddenly had an ally against Lucy, and two allies against Erza, plans began to gradually take form. Happy giggled, maybe he'd get another ally in the next warm fuzzy!

 _Dear Happy,_

 _Straighten up when I'm talking to you! I'm sick of your slouchy posture!_

Happy immediately straightened his back, this was unmistakeably Erza. Leave it to her to show up just as he was thinking about pranking her.

 _You're a very disruptive influence, no one gets any work done when you're around! Having said that, your life and energy are important to the mood of the guild, and your attitude is extremely encouraging for your comrades._

 _I will be forever grateful for your friendship with Natsu. I was worried about his personal development for the longest time, but after going on more missions with the two of you, my mind has been put at ease. Your bubbly personality and optimism has overridden his previously grouchy demeanour growing up, Natsu has undoubtedly taken after you and your attitude towards life. Long gone is the moody brat who walked into the guild all those years ago, now we have our hyperactive, smiling, dynamo._

 _You instil a sense of confidence in everyone around you, Lucy and Gray have both become more outgoing since coming into regular contact with you, and maybe, maybe…I have become slightly less pessimistic. Maybe._

 _Thank you, Happy._

 _-Anonymous._

Happy's eyes scanned over the letter again once he'd finished. _Does Natsu really take after me?_

Happy screwed up his face in concentration, trying to remember if Natsu had ever been different to how he was now. Maybe he was a little grumpier when they were younger, but Happy thought that he was the one who had taken after Natsu. Happy swallowed nervously, did Natsu want to get away from him because of his personality? Maybe he wanted to be more adult like Lucy.

" _Everyone has to grow up…"_

Happy sniffed and went to read the next warm fuzzy.

 _Dear Happy,_

" _I'm going to roast you alive, cat!" Is probably what I'd usually say to you, but given the anonymous opportunity, and your general cluelessness, I'm confident that I can get away with writing you something nice._

 _We give each other a hard time, but I can't imagine life without you. You are one of my closest friends. You never fail to make me laugh when I'm feeling down, and you never fail to deflate my head when I'm getting arrogant. It's hard to be scared of the monsters we encounter when you're goofing off and cracking jokes, and it's hard to be worried about Natsu when you show him complete, unwavering, confidence from the sidelines._

 _I cannot believe these words are appearing on paper, but sometimes I wish I could be more like you. You have uncompromising trust in your friends, and I've never seen you doubt Natsu once. I envy how close you are._

 _-Anonymous_

Happy held his head in confusion, he wasn't cut out for this stuff. He started counting names off on his paws.

"First there was Gajeel, then Elfman, then Mira, then…uhhh Levy? So by process of elimination, this must have been from Erza! I always knew she was jealous of me!"

Happy clapped his hands, confident in his deductions. His moment of triumph didn't last long, however, as he realised he still had one more to go.

"Ugh, may as well see what jerk-Natsu has to say."

 _Yo Happy!_

 _I hope u r causing a lot of trouble, the old man keeps watching me for sum reason._

 _Get this tho, I sent Erza a cold prickly and pretended it was from Gray, I even consentrated super hard to make sure the spelling was rite! I usually cant be stuffed thinking about spelling, but this was too good! Ice prinsess wont no what hit him tomorrow!_

 _Happy, lets stay friends forever, no matter what happens in future. Maybe one day we wont be able to hang out and live together 24/7 like we do now, but I want u to no that being fizzically apart wont change anything between us._

 _Sorry for dropping the real stuff on u all of a sudden, I just need to talk to u asap._

 _Lets get the old man back for this stupid activity!_

 _-Mistery Man_

Happy sniffled, before bursting into tears. For all the talk in the previous warm fuzzy about how much he trusted Natsu, he'd instantly turned on his best friend at the first sign of trouble. Natsu had held faith that their friendship would endure change, but Happy hadn't.

"I'm sorry, Natsu." Happy curled up into a ball on top of Natsu's warm fuzzy. "Please come home."

* * *

 **NEXT TIME: Natsu wanders Magnolia!**

 **Thank you to everyone for your feedback. I was very excited to pass 100 reviews last week, congratulations to 'Blue Star' for being the official centurion!**


	8. Chapter 8

"You're just trying to pawn me off to stupid Gray and stupid Erza! Were we just friends until you could find an upgrade?" Happy was trembling now, his tiny body overcome with emotion.

"It's not like that at all, Happy!"

Happy glared at Natsu through teary eyes, before taking off and flying out the window.

"HAPPY!"

Natsu burst out the front door after him.

"HAAAAAPPYYYYYY!"

The blue cat was already gone.

Natsu sighed bitterly. That could have gone a lot better, he had not expected Happy to react so poorly. Natsu fidgeted on the spot, should he wait here, or go out and look for him? Natsu shook his head almost instantly, there was nothing to debate. There was no way he could sit still while his friend was roaming the streets somewhere. Natsu took off down the path back into Magnolia, relying on his nose and ears to guide him through the dark streets.

 **OoOoO**

"Well, I'm horribly lost." Natsu announced.

Grimy walls boxed Natsu in. The never ending urban jungle, plagued with a wide buffet of grotesque scents, had confused Natsu hopelessly in a matter of minutes. This was a major reason why he chose to live outside of the city.

"HAAAAAAPPYYYYY!"

An old man stuck his head out of a nearby window.

"Would you quit your yellin'?"

Natsu sheepishly lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Haaaaappyyyyyy"

Natsu turned a few more corners, but found himself no closer to finding his friend, or a way out of the maze. He sighed in frustration, running a hand through his hair, wondering where he'd gone wrong. Should he just forget about this Lucy thing? Maybe it was more trouble than it's worth.

For what seemed like the hundredth time in the last week, Natsu was back to talking himself out of dating Lucy. His mind had come up with many reasons, conspiring against his heart until he rationalised that he was in fact doing the wrong thing. Then he'd look at Lucy and his heart would stamp out his mind and he'd be back to square one, biding his time for the right moment. Natsu pondered if this was how everyone else felt, being so panicked about another human being that they lost sleep at night.

 _Nah, it's probably just me. Lucy's messed me up pretty bad._

Natsu could actually pinpoint when this had all started, the release day of the February edition of Sorcerer Monthly. Lucy had been behind on her rent, as usual, and had resorted to a minor photo shoot. Natsu and Happy, eager to tease her mercilessly, had grabbed a copy first thing in the morning and looked at the embarrassing photos. But while Happy had cackled away like normal, Natsu had felt light-headed.

 _Lucy is…really beautiful._

Once the seed had been planted, it had grown and grown. Natsu kept catching himself staring at her from across the guild hall, and getting irrationally angry when other men approached her on the street. Not knowing what to do, Natsu had eventually caved in and asked Mira for advice.

" _Ohohoho"-_

" _OK, Mira, it's been 10 minutes, can you please stop laughing?"_

" _Natsu, it's simple. Just ask Lucy out on a date. If you're attracted to her, you should become a couple."_

" _But what if she says no?"_

" _I wish I could tell you that she won't. Or that everything will be alright. But life is a gamble, Natsu. Sometimes you just have to take that risk."_

Her advice a week later at the warm fuzzy activity had been much less comforting.

" _Natsu! What the hell have you been doing? Ask her out already!"_

" _But Mira, I'm too nervous"-_

" _I don't care! Kiss already! KISS!"_

Natsu sighed. He definitely wanted to kiss Lucy. But he didn't want to lose Happy as a friend. And for that matter, he didn't want to lose Lucy as a friend either. This 'growing up' thing was lame.

Having still not gotten out of the district he was in, Natsu pulled the warm fuzzies out of his pocket to read as he walked. He probably had a much better chance of finding Happy by walking in a random direction with his head down. He'd gotten through a few before the argument, but they'd since become jumbled in his pocket, so Natsu decided to just read them all again.

 _Dear Natsu,_

 _I'm very proud of you, you've come a long way in the last year. However, more important than the immense power you've accumulated, is that you have retained your personality and your relationships. Strength can do strange things to people. It can drive them to isolation, or greed, or arrogance. You display none of these, or any of power's other traditional vices. Even I can't claim to have achieved that._

 _I've watched you defeat strong opponents again and again, win unwinnable fights. Your heart, your will, your fighting spirit, I am truly envious. Next time you barge into the guild, fire blazing, demanding a fight, I just might take you up on it. You're clearly doing something right._

 _-Anonymous_

Natsu laughed nervously, he didn't really know how to react to someone being proud of him, no one had told him that in a very long time. He decided that it was probably a joke from Loke or Cana and moved on.

 _Dear Natsu,_

 _Juvia thought she would never find herself thanking someone for defeating Phantom Lord. Without you, Juvia would have never met her Fairy Tail friends. Without you, Juvia would have never been happy. Juvia owes you everything. Please, if you ever need something, anything, ask Juvia and she will help you._

 _-Anonymous_

"Well, that was nice!" Natsu smiled. "Oh wait, there's more!"

 _P.S Would you kindly hurry up and seal the deal with Lucy? Juvia is sick of competing with her for Gray's love._

Natsu rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously. "Really didn't need that extra pressure, thanks Juvia."

Natsu reached for the next warm fuzzy.

 _Salamander. You probably think I'm being hypocritical right about now, sending you a warm fu- message, because I am definitely going to threaten you later about sending me one. But there's a difference between me writing you a thank you note, one warrior to another, and us writing each other love letters like a couple of teenage girls. SO YOU BETTER NOT HAVE SENT ME ANYTHING!_

 _Thank you for beating me. No, I will never say that out loud. Yes, if I see you waving this around the guild you are dead. I was on the road to an early grave, surrounded by darkness, I kidded myself into thinking it was my destiny, that it would be foolish to deny who I was. Then I think you literally knocked some sense into me._

 _I didn't think any of you fairies would ever look at me as a fri- a frie- a frieeee- a comrade, but you do._

 _Thank you._

 _-Anonymous_

Natsu laughed out loud. He'd read this at his home, but it was still amusing the second time around. Gajeel always did have a problem saying the 'f word'. He wouldn't embarrass Gajeel with this, yet. Maybe he'd pull it out in 5 years though.

 _Dragneel, you're not so tough. How about wearing a new change of clothes, you slob._

 _-Anon_

"WHAT!? How come other people get to send cold prickles, but the second I move my pencil Gramps is all over me!?"

Natsu fumed at the injustice, he'd roast whoever sent this, if he could figure it out. To rub salt in the wound, there was another cold prickly lurking in his pocket that he'd read earlier, bringing the tally up to two.

 _Dear Natsu,_

 _I'm just going to come out and say it. Your body is immaculate. I sincerely wish you had Gray's stripping habit._

 _Now that I've gotten that out of the way, you are a good friend and a hilarious guild mate. It never ceases to amaze me how you can be at the centre of every single Fairy Tail brawl. The guild genuinely quietens when you're out on a mission, it just isn't Fairy Tail until you come home._

 _You know who else has an immaculate body? Lucy. Just saying._

 _xoxo_

 _-Anonymous_

Natsu reddened at the last part of the message. Lucy's body was very…good. He coughed and tried to dispel those thoughts, they never simplified things.

 _Hey, Flame-for-brains._

A muscle above Natsu's eye twitched.

 _You're pretty weak, how come you can't even beat an ice-mage? What a disgrace to fire-mages. To think, I have to always go easy on the mighty lizard king._

 _Ugh, Master is lurking. Hey, Natsu. Fighting you is a decent way to pass the time. I feel you've pushed me to become stronger than I could have ever been just training on my own. And I suppose life would be pretty dull if you weren't hanging around the guild being an idiot._

 _My favourite memory of you was when you came crawling to me for advice on fighting. You probably don't remember after the vicious concussion I gave you._

 _-Anonymous_

"THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN!" Natsu roared, jumping up and down on the spot after reading the message for the second time that day. The only thing that calmed him down was the knowledge that Erza would grind Gray into pulp tomorrow due to his ingenious fake warm fuzzy plan.

Natsu went for the next warm fuzzy, but stopped as he felt a cool breeze wash over him. He'd walked out to the river.

"The river! I know where I am now! I can go ask Lucy for help and"-

Natsu had already run a couple of steps in Lucy's direction before he skidded to a halt. That was probably the last thing Happy wanted to see, him and Lucy searching together. Natsu frowned in thought, he couldn't keep searching randomly, he'd never find Happy that way. Fairy Tail was closed, Happy wouldn't be visiting Lucy considering the argument, where else would he go?

Natsu's stomach grumbled.

"Of course! We didn't eat dinner! Happy probably got hungry and went home!"

Natsu immediately took off, praying he was right.

 **OoOoO**

"HAP-py!" Natsu yelled as he burst through the front door, quickly quietening his voice as he saw that his friend was fast asleep in front of the fire.

"Sorry, little buddy." Natsu whispered, closing the door gently behind him, and tip-toeing over to join his Exceed.

Natsu collapsed onto the ground, relief flooding him. He didn't know what he would have done if Happy had gone missing. He reached across and scratched the fur between Happy's ears softly, he didn't want to wake him, but he also wanted to talk to him. Happy's whiskers twitched slightly, but he continued to sleep. Natsu took that as a sign and stopped, going back to his warm fuzzies.

He wasn't a detective like Erza, but he was fairly sure that he hadn't read a message from Lucy or Happy yet, the two friends he was most concerned about. His stomach twisted itself into a knot as he reached for the next message.

 _NATSU! YOU ARE A TRUE MAN! WHEN YOUR PUNCH CANNONS INTO MY JAW I WEAP TEARS OF MANLINESS! THEY ARE DIFFERENT FROM REGULAR TEARS! REGULAR TEARS ARE NOT MANLY AT ALL! KEEP FIGHTING WITH YOUR FISTS!_

Natsu stifled a laugh. It had taken him a couple of sentences but he'd eventually realised it wasn't Happy or Lucy, he'd forgotten about Elfman. With a renewed sense of anticipation, he pulled out the penultimate warm fuzzy.

 _Hey Natsu! I can't wait to tell you about all the things I wrote to the others, some of them are going to be crazy-angry tomorrow! Let's have fun with those dummies forever! I have a couple of great plans for Erza if you ever decide to stop being a chicken, bawk bawwwwkkkk._

Natsu smiled as his eyes travelled down the page. In huge text, Happy had written the word 'YOU', with an arrow pointing to a picture of a chicken breathing fire, with the caption 'All hail Erza, queen of Fiore'.

Looking over at his sleeping friend again, Natsu sighed in contemplation. Maybe he was being too greedy, life with Happy was good. It was fun being Lucy's friend, maybe he didn't have to take it any further than that…unless she'd written him something that would change his mind…

Natsu ran his fingers over the final message, shivering in nervous excitement. He couldn't believe how fast his heart was beating over a dumb note, he talked to Lucy every day, but something about an 'anonymous' message gave him hope that she'd written him something more.

Natsu swallowed, and began to read.

 _Dear Natsu,_

 _-You know I still-_

 _-I really appreciate-_

 _-I think that-_

 _-How are you-_

Natsu grinned, typical indecisive Lucy, sentence after sentence of opening lines were crossed out and scribbled over, this might have been the reason she was one of the last to finish.

 _Dear Natsu,_

 _You're really strong. And brave. And funny. And cool. Sometimes. You're strong and brave and funny all the time, but only cool sometimes, I mean-_

Natsu laughed. Lucy had scribbled over all of that as well, but his keen eyes were able to make out the words underneath. The next part of the warm fuzzy had been left alone, this was it.

 _Dear Natsu,_

 _I'd like to thank you for everything you've done for me. You showed me what real bravery looks like. Courage isn't simply fighting, or taking on powerful foes. Courage is doing those things for the sake of others. Because of you, I have people I want to protect, people who want to protect me, people I can be brave for. I have a family again._

 _I'm envious of how you live life. You just charge into whatever you want to do headfirst, and deal with the consequences later. Nothing worries you, you just shrug your shoulders and smile in the face of adversity. This always makes me so angry, not because it's a quality I don't admire, but because I could never hope to be so carefree._

 _When you smile, no matter where we are, or what we're doing, I know everything is right in the world._

 _-Anonymous_

Natsu read the message through six times before Happy's tail grazed his leg, snapping Natsu out of the cycle. Natsu carefully folded the note and tucked it into a pocket on the inside of his vest, trying to deal with the rising, mixed emotions, swelling in his chest again. It was a kind message, a friendly message, it made Natsu happy to know that Lucy looked up to him in certain ways. As a person, Natsu held her on a pedestal above him, so it warmed his heart that she did the same for him. But at the same time…there had been no love confession.

Natsu scoffed at himself, it was a ridiculous idea, and a hypocritical one considering he hadn't been able to commit to telling his feelings to Lucy, sort of. He actually had no idea if she'd understand his warm fuzzy, it had been difficult to write dealing with his inner turmoil, as well as Makarov and Mira keeping tabs. Still…he couldn't deny that he'd gotten his hopes up, and it hurt to see them dashed.

Natsu stretched, what happened to 'charging in headfirst'? Women were clearly a dangerous force, they made you act all funny. Bits and pieces that he'd heard from Gildarts and Loke began to make more sense to him now. Why did he never listen to their advice?

Natsu shook his head tiredly, there was no point dwelling on it any longer. He wasn't going to pursue Lucy, he couldn't lose his best friend. Natsu smiled sadly at Happy and scooped him up into his arms and carried him to the bedroom. As Natsu lowered Happy into the bed, his eyes opened slimly.

"Natsu?"

"Shhhh, it's ok Happy, go back to sleep."

Happy obliged him, closing his eyes again. As Natsu went to move away however, he caught the faintest of whispers.

"I'm sorry…date Lucy…I'm sorry…"

Natsu shushed him again but Happy was already asleep. Natsu smiled wryly. Maybe tomorrow would be interesting after all, the ball was back in his court.

"I've got a lot of thinking to do beforrrr"-

Natsu's sentence went unfinished as sleep took him as well.

* * *

 **NEXT TIME: Drip drop, Juvia makes a decision!**

 **I can't believe this is nearly finished…**

 **Thank you to everyone who favourited, followed, or reviewed. Feedback, criticisms, reactions, they shape you as a writer, I'm always interested to know what people think.**


	9. Chapter 9

Juvia lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Scraps of her post box, and the warm fuzzies it had contained, were strewn across the floor where she'd dumped them. Her knuckles were white from gripping onto Gray's message, she could feel her heart pounding against her chest, its pulse rippling around her body.

She shifted her head sideways to observe the paper at the end of her outstretched arm. She'd lost count of how many times she'd read it. She'd gone through it forwards, backwards, standing, sitting, upside down, even with her eyes closed. Reading his words had made her heart soar and sink, it was the standard Gray experience.

Juvia had loved him since the second the clouds parted. He was her knight in shining armour. He was her handsome fairy tale prince. Except that he didn't want to be. The idea of love at first sight had no hold over him, he considered it childish. It didn't bother her, she'd convince him that it was meant to be. She'd convince him that Juvia was the only woman for Gray.

Then something strange happened. Juvia fell in love with Gray. Again. Juvia didn't think it was possible for her to love Gray any more than she had before, but then she got to know him as they worked together. She saw how kind he was, how selfless, how brave, and how clever. Juvia then understood the difference between infatuation, and obsession. There was only one problem, Gray thought she was a creepy stalker because she'd professed her love before they'd gotten to know each other.

Disappointed, but not defeated, Juvia had resigned herself to waiting. She thought she could wait forever for him. But the longer she waited, the greater the unease at the edges of her mind. She began to question if she really was right for Gray. If he was still not interested in her after all this time, then what right did she have to pretend they were a possibility? Wasn't she denying him happiness by hovering over his life, 'protecting' him from other women?

And so, they had entered the guild hall for this innocuous activity by order of the Master. To prove to Gray that she wasn't the naïve girl she once was, she'd scrapped her love letters and sent a regular note…sort of. She couldn't help but remember something Mira had told her one day at the bar: _'Juvia, if you love someone, set them free. If they come back they're yours; if they don't, they never were.'_

And then, Gray had sent her…this. She still didn't know how to react to it, how to feel. She finally let the note slip between her fingers and drift to the floor. As Juvia watched it gently touch down, she noticed the other warm fuzzies scattered around. She loved all of her new friends, but she hadn't given them a second thought when she burst through the door and tore the boxes apart to find Gray's message. ' _This is probably one of those things that Gray gets creeped out over'_ , Juvia thought. She quickly rolled off the bed and scooped them all up off the ground.

The first thing she noticed was that they were slightly longer than she'd expected. Had she misread the room? She could have sworn that everyone had grumbled about doing this activity. Juvia had just expected one sentence from everyone. 'I like your water magic'. 'You have nice hair'. 'You're a nice person'. She was still an outsider, after all.

 _Juvia. Keep smiling, it suits you. Life is pretty good for us now, huh? We've come a long way…_

 _You know I'm not good with this mushy stuff. Let me know if you want me to beat up the ice-boy. You can do a lot better._

 _Seeya, I guess._

Juvia did smile as she read the blunt message. She didn't have a lot to be nostalgic about, but she had always appreciated being under the umbrella of protection from her 'big brother'.

 _Dear Juvia,_

 _It's been so nice having another girl around the guild, I just wish you weren't so strong! I wouldn't be surprised if you are chosen for the S-Class exams soon, I have to do my best to catch up to you._

 _I'm happy you've been coming out of your shell more, you're a really funny person. Let's do more missions together in future!_

 _Don't give up on Gray! I promise I'm not trying to steal him from you!_

 _-Anonymous_

Juvia gasped dramatically. One of her love rivals was telling her not to give up, she was truly blessed with good friends.

 _Yo Juvia! Hows it goin? U crack me up heaps! Lets fight! Fire beats ice and ice is made of water so get ready to lose! You and Ice Princess are perfect for each other, neether of you can beat me!_

 _-Mistery Man_

Juvia gasped dramatically. One of her friends thought that Gray and her were perfect for each other!

 _JUVIA! THE THUNDERING CRASH OF WAVES POUNDING AGAINST THE ROCKS! THE DESTRUCTIVE FORCE OF A RAMPANT TYPHOON! THE NIGHTMARISH TERROR OF THE SEA'S DARK INHABITANTS! THE CRUSHING PRESSURE OF ITS DEEPEST DEPTHS! WATER IS MANLY! YOU ARE MANLY! MEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNN!_

Juvia gasped dramatically. She had never thought about water being manly before, to her it was more of a flowing, graceful, balance of art and nature. _'Gray is manly, maybe he would be impressed if'-_

Juvia shook her head, wincing. She had to stop thinking like that, Gray hated it. She took a deep breath, and rerouted her thoughts. _'This was a nice message, it gives Juvia an idea for a new attack. Maybe Juvia will show Gray sometime because he's Juvia's friend and that's what friends do'._

Juvia nodded approvingly at her second attempt at reacting to the message, happily moving on to the next warm fuzzy.

 _Juvia, you can't fool me! Kiss Gray already!_

Juvia squeaked, dropping the warm fuzzy and going bright red. This message hadn't helped her endeavour to not think about Gray romantically. She reached for the next message a lot more carefully, bracing herself for emotional impact.

 _Hey baby, how you doin? When I heard two members of Phantom Lord were joining Fairy Tail, I was like 'Hell no!' And then I saw who it was and I was like 'Hell yes, she's a freaking bombshell, we can ditch the metal guy though'. Unfortunately no one listened to me and we ended up with both of you, but you're so beautiful that it's worth having that other jerk around. As it turns out, you have a nice personality to go with your body, which is a first for Fairy Tail. You'd probably be the hottest free agent in the guild if people weren't scared of pissing off Gray, myself included!_

 _-Anon_

Juvia tilted her head in confusion. Did Gray really get angry when other people approached her? She'd never seen it. Then again, he was a lot better than her at hiding emotions.

 _Dear Juvia,_

 _Damn, you are so hot. I've never seen a girl pull off wearing so many clothes, I'll have to try it sometime. It's been fun having you around, it's not every day I actually get a good challenge in a drinking contest. You've nearly gotten the better of me a few times. I have to work harder if I want to stay ahead of you!_

 _-Anonymous_

Juvia smiled nervously, the only reason she could keep up was due to her in-built filtration system, and even with that ridiculously unfair advantage she still ended up on the floor before Cana.

 _Dear Juvia,_

 _I'm proud of you. You've grown so much in the last year, both as a mage, and as a person. I was wary at first, but you have proven yourself a trustworthy addition to our guild, and a positive role model to the younger members. You dress appropriately, act kindly, fight honourably, and work persistently._

 _Without a shred of hesitation, I'll be personally nominating you to the Master for the S-Class trials. I'm excited about how far you've come, but more excited by how far you'll go._

 _On a personal note, I hope you know that you can come to me with anything. For example, advice about boys, or suggestions on dating, or gossiping about men, or just if you need to talk about random topics like ice-mages or people with stripping problems. Pretty much anything, really._

 _-Anonymous_

Juvia stifled a laugh with her hand. Whoever sent this was not subtle at all. Still, it was nice to know that so many people supported her, even if it was ultimately pointless.

Juvia looked down at the remaining note, the one she had already memorised word for word. It was the definition of mixed signals. After a moment's deliberation she sighed, rolling her eyes at herself, stretching her fingers to Gray's message one more time.

 _Dear Juvia,_

 _I'm sorry. I just don't understand you at all_. _I don't know what you see in me, or why you worship me so much. To be honest, it hurts. I don't think I could ever love or devote myself to someone the way you have to me, I can't help but feel ashamed at the wide gap between us. You blurt out what you want…or who you want, without a care in the world. I could never be so open. You deserve so much better, you deserve someone who would announce their love back._

 _It's not that I don't like you or anything. I probably like you too much. You're too kind and beautiful for me to screw up. I don't want to damage you. Whenever you're around I go into an internal panic to try and stay neutral. I don't want to reject you and hurt your feelings. I don't want to accept you and hurt your feelings by not being the person you think I am. I don't want to ignore you and hurt your feelings. I don't want to lead you on and hurt your feelings. I don't know what I want or what to do._

 _I'm sorry, this letter should be about positive things, I've turned it into a gross, whiny, apology. I'll try and get back on track._

 _You are the most selfless person I've ever met, by a wide margin. And I'm not even talking about how you treat me, you put everyone before yourself. You will do anything to help even complete strangers. I can only imagine how many hundreds of people you've made happier. In fact I'd be willing to bet that you've taken the time to write something personal and heartfelt to everyone in this room._

 _You are also one of the most talented mages I've ever met. Your unwillingness to hurt people leads to you being underestimated by others, but they haven't fought you head on like I have. It was one of the best fights of my life._

 _You are an incredible person. I just want you to find happiness, and I don't think you'll find it with me._

 _-Anonymous_

Juvia smiled through the tears, silently berating herself. This was more than she'd ever gotten out of her hero, and she had the nerve to want more.

' _It hurts'_

' _You deserve so much better'_

' _I probably like you too much'_

' _I don't know what I want'_

' _You are an incredible person'_

' _I don't think you'll find it with me'_

Juvia traced the words with her fingernail, Gray's neat handwriting as mismatched to his personality as the contents of the note. She laid back down on her bed, not letting go of Gray's letter, nursing a heavy feeling in her chest. She had a lot of thinking to do before going to Fairy Tail tomorrow.

* * *

 **NEXT TIME: THE CHAPTER YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! ELFMAN ROARS!**

 **Well, that was terrible. I'll be the first to admit that this was not my best work. Large chunks of this were re-written, and I'm still not happy with it. I try and infuse realism into the characters, and a lot of that is from personal or secondary experience, but with Juvia I just had nothing to go on. I'm looking forward to writing her in the finale to make amends.**

 **As per normal, reviews are appreciated greatly, but this time I'm specifically interested to know where I went wrong with Juvia, or how I could write her better. I've read so much Gruvia in the last week searching for inspiration, but I still blew it xD**

 **COMING SOON: Fairy Tail/Hunger Games! Written by 'AriSapphyre', I'm just beta-reading. Go check her stories out!**


	10. Chapter 10

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Elfman couldn't contain himself as he burst into tears, sobbing helplessly. His huge body shook as it was devastated by overflowing emotion.

"H-HOW? HOW COULD THEY DO THIS?"

Nine warm fuzzies were laid out on the bed before him.

* * *

 _Yo Elfman, ur really manly._

 _-Mistery Man_

* * *

 _Dear Elfman,_

 _You're very manly, do your best!_

 _-Anonymous_

* * *

 _Uh, I guess you're manly._

 _-Anonymous_

* * *

 _Your body is definitely manly._

 _-Anonymous_

* * *

 _Elfguy, you're kind of manly. Don't come near me._

* * *

 _You can't fool me! Kiss Evergreen already if you're manly!_

* * *

 _Dear Elfman,_

 _Juvia likes how manly you are._

 _-Anonymous_

* * *

 _Dear Elfman,_

 _Too manly!_

 _-Anonymous_

* * *

 _Dear Elfman,_

 _I'm not writing you anything you manly meathead._

 _-Anon_

* * *

"HEY! Keep it down!"

Elfman's ceiling shook as Mira stomped on her bedroom floor above him.

"BUT SIS! THE WARM FUZZIES! TH-THEY"-

"I'm warning you, Elfman! Don't make me come in there! I need my beauty sleep!

"THE GUILD…THEY THINK I'M MANLY!"

"LAST CHANCE!"

"THEY REALLY, TRULY, THINK I'M MANLYYYY!"

"THAT'S IT!"

Tears of joy continued to flow down Elfman's face, even as Mira broke into his room and beat him into a puddle of mush.

"This is the happiest day of my life." Elfman whispered, before losing consciousness in a warm, fuzzy, daze.

* * *

 **NEXT TIME: The penultimate chapter! Lucy reads the last of the warm fuzzies!**

 **Apologies to anyone that wanted a deep, insightful, look into Elfman's psyche. This was a joke chapter that I had planned since the beginning.**

 **Thank you everyone for the feedback on the previous chapter, I've definitely gained some confidence about writing Juvia in the finale, and I even got a couple of ideas from things people said.**

 **One final note. I thought I'd clarify the time period of the story, it takes place pre-Tenrou Island. In fact all my stories do, for the simple reason that I've never read/watched FT past the GMG. There, I've finally come clean, you all know my terrible terrible secret xD I'm a poser fan who doesn't even know what's currently happening xD Please forgive me!**


	11. Chapter 11

"Wanna read our warm fuzzies together?" Natsu asked Lucy eagerly.

"NO WAY! They are supposed to be private!" Lucy responded, her cheeks going slightly pink. She nodded at Cana, Juvia, and Erza, before dashing off.

* * *

Lucy slammed the front door behind her, exhaling deeply. Aside from bumping into Levy, she'd run all the way home, foregoing her usual balancing act along the riverside. She skidded to her desk, emptied the warm fuzzy basket, and immediately seized the first note. Halfway through unfolding it her hands froze, hesitation gripping her.

What if Natsu hadn't written her something nice? No, in fact there was an extremely high chance Natsu hadn't written her something nice. Lucy tried quelling her expectations, but they continued to simmer, threatening to boil over. What if she was the only one who had written people actual warm fuzzies? She tried so hard to fit in with the others, but they were so unpredictable that she always ended up making a fool of herself.

After another minute's deliberation, Lucy snapped the warm fuzzy open, promising herself that if it was a cold prickly she wouldn't read any more of them.

 _Dear Lucy,_

 _Rrrrreow, what a figure! I am sooo jealous of your body! You have to flaunt it more, I'm begging you! Don't have the wardrobe? Use mine! Or I could even take you shopping! Come on, show me a little more skin!_

 _-Anonymous_

Lucy blushed and immediately buried the note inside one of her drawers, never to be read again. Since it was technically a warm fuzzy, albeit a perverted one, Lucy indulged in another.

 _Dear Love Rival,_

 _Juvia never would have thought we could become friends while both pursuing the same man, but you are such a kind and caring person that you have suckered Juvia into your devious trap. Juvia no longer hates you, although she wishes she did, it would make it easier to dispose of you._

 _You are such a lovely soul, Juvia truly hope s you can find happiness with whoever your backup plan is after Juvia wins Gray's heart._

 _-Anonymous_

Lucy face-palmed, also burying this warm fuzzy into the depths of her desk. It didn't matter how many times she told Juvia she wasn't interested, Juvia would never believe her. Since this was also technically a warm fuzzy, by the thinnest of margins, Lucy sighed and grabbed another one.

 _Dear Lucy,_

 _You're pretty lame, in a cool kind of way. You've also gotten really strong, way stronger than I expected. You've taught me to never judge a book by its cover. It's nice having someone with a brain out on missions to counteract Lizard King, I feel a lot safer when you're around. Don't let it go to your head though, you and the reptile both get pretty annoying when your egos inflate, I think he's rubbed off on you, sadly._

 _-Anonymous_

Lucy's eye twitched. Could no one just send her a straight warm fuzzy? Was that so much to ask?

Once again, the message had in some way complimented her, so Lucy rolled her eyes and plucked another one out.

 _LUCY! YOU ARE REALLY MANLY! YOUR KICKS ARE AS POWERFUL AS A BUCKING MULE'S! KEY MAGIC ISN'T VERY MANLY, BUT TAUROS IS SO YOU STILL PASS! HAVE YOU SEEN HIS PECS? MAAAANLY!_

"…Did he just compare me to a donkey?"

Lucy buried this deep with the others, rubbing her temple in frustration. Still, 'manly' was a compliment coming from Elfman which meant one more.

 _You can't fool me! Kiss a fish already!_

"OK! I'm done!" Lucy announced, dropping the note and pushing her chair back.

Lucy had taken a few paces before coming to a stop, her fingers curled around the handle of her bedroom door. _'What was the promise I made? I wouldn't read anymore if there was a cold prickly…I guess that wasn't really a cold prickly, was it?'_

Lucy made a big show of stomping back to the desk, discarding the previous message into the depths of the drawer, and picking up the next one.

 _Bunny girl. Aside from being a narcissistic, fragile, sissy, you're not so bad._

"Oh come on! That HAD to be a cold prickly!" Lucy asked herself out loud.

' _Was it though?'_

"Yes!"

' _But was it?'_

"YES!"

' _Really?'_

YES!"

' _Or was it a warm fuzzy?'_

"It was a cold prickly!"

' _It said you weren't so bad.'_

"It called me narcissistic!"

' _Bunnies are cute, learn to take a compliment.'_

"That's really stretching it."

' _Hey, you're the one who wants to keep reading.'_

"What? No I- HEY!"

As her inner voice faded away, Lucy looked down to find she'd already picked up the next slip of paper.

"How did that even happen? Oh well, since I've already picked it up I might as well continue..."

 _My lovely, luscious, Lucy,_

 _Are you religious? Because you're the answer to all my prayers._

 _Have you got a bandage? Because I scraped my knee falling for you._

 _Are you a parking ticket? Cause you've got fine written all over you._

 _If I had one Jewel for every time I thought of you, I'd still only have one Jewel because you never leave my mind._

 _Are you a camera? Because every time I look at you I smile._

 _Do you have a map? I'm getting lost in your eyes._

 _Are you my appendix? Because I have a funny feeling in my stomach that I should take you out._

 _Let me know if any of these worked._

 _-Anon_

Lucy calmly buried the note with the rest of them. She got up, walked into the bathroom, washed her hands, and then sat back down at her desk, trying to cleanse what she had just read from her memory.

 _Yo Lucy!_

"Eep!"

Lucy dropped the note like it was contagious. She only knew one person that greeted people like that.

"Not ready, not ready, not ready." Lucy muttered and immediately left the room. "Oh! Dinner! I have to prepare dinner! And then wash the dishes! Oh and I've got to sweep the house. And work on my novel. Yep, the next chapter is long overdue! Plue needs a bath. I need a bath! I should probably stock up on some groceries as well…"

 **OoOoO**

Lucy re-entered her bedroom several hours later, a towel wrapped around her body, steam rising off of her shoulders. The bath had been really relaxing, now she was ready for a nice long sle-

The sheet of paper stared at her from her desk, demanding to be read. Lucy scrunched up her face in defiance and continued changing. _'Out of sight, out of mind. Out of sight, out of mind. Out of sight, out of…'_

Lucy sighed and opened her eyes, she really had forgotten about it while committing herself to her chores. The dread crept back into her stomach, replacing the warmth of her bath.

' _What are you so worried about? So the goofball doesn't write you anything nice? What's wrong with the status quo?'_

Lucy tried to agree, but she couldn't. The status quo hurt. Every smile, every brief touch, every moment, being Natsu's friend was incredible, but the tension was slowly strangling her. She was becoming more and more awkward around him, she had to confess soon. But what was the point? Natsu was so dense, Lucy couldn't imagine him viewing her as something more than friends. Lucy couldn't imagine him viewing anyone as something more than friends. He was Natsu, he was above the silly crushes of mere mortals.

It made sense in a twisted sort of way. Natsu was the most amazing person in the world, so why would he be interested in her? It'd be out of character, it'd be too…normal.

' _If you know he hasn't written you a love confession, what's the harm in reading it? Just get it out of the way.'_

Lucy cocked her head. It was true, the simmering expectation had cooled, her stomach was still. There was no harm in looking now.

 _Yo Lucy!_

 _What's up? You're probably wondering why I'm using those gramma stuff. Uh, punchuashion. I'm trying really hard to write this properly so you better compliment me later!_

 _I saw you struggling to write your warm fuzzies haha that is so you! I bet you were worried about writing everyone something nice so they would like you more or something. You always come up with these weird ideas! Don't worry, everyone likes you just fine! You're our family now, quit thinking you're an outsider!_

 _You're really funny, even when you're trying not to be. You're really clever, even though you're a clumsy blonde. And you're really strong, even though you don't like fighting. You gotta stop worrying about what the others think, cause they're never going to tell you hahaha_

 _We've been best friends for a while now, right? No, not like, I'm not asking you if it's been awhile. Like, do you think we're best friends? We go on lots of missions together, Team Natsu is really exsiting! But I was thinking, like Happy needs to make more friends seperit to me, and I'm sick of Ice Freak and Erza ruening my fun, maybe we can go on some missions, like just the two of us sometime? I bet it would be heaps of fun. I wanna ask you some things and junk, nothing serious, so let's do it! Wait! Not like 'it'! I mean like, chill. Wait! Not like 'chill', but like an adventure._

 _I like hanging out with you!_

 _-Mistery Man_

Lucy's heart skipped several beats. This was not the status quo. Natsu's writing was flustered and awkward towards the end.

'… _just the two of us'_

' _I wanna ask you some things'_

' _I like hanging out with you!'_

All kinds of fantasies crept into Lucy's mind about the two of them, alone. And what did he want to ask her? Did he have feelings for her? Was it actually possible?

Lucy sighed, her mouth twitching into a small smile. She shook her head, dispelling the crazy thoughts that had momentarily taken her over. She was being ridiculous, it was no love confession, just regular Natsu. He liked her, he wants to hang out with her, go on adventures together, but he'd never want to date her. Lucy sank back into her chair, realising she'd been perched on the edge of her seat while reading. Enough false hope, it was time to move on.

As Lucy motioned to leave her desk, another scrap of paper caught her eye. At some point it had fallen to the floor. Lucy picked it up, curious, and began to read.

 _Dear Lucy,_

 _You are beautiful._

 _Take a deep breath._

 _You are beautiful._

 _Why did I say it twice? Because you didn't believe me the first time. But you should. If you believed the compliments people gave you, instead of smiling and shrugging them off, you'd be a stronger, more confident, person._

 _Say "I am beautiful" out loud, right now. Say it, or you're not allowed to continue reading!_

Lucy looked around her apartment deviously, before continuing to read.

 _You didn't say it, did you, Lucy? You thought you'd just keep reading, drifting through this note like you drift through life! SAY IT!_

"Ah! I'm sorry!" Lucy squeaked, embarrassed that the note had predicted what she'd do. "I am…beautiful." Lucy whispered, coughing in embarrassment as soon as she'd finished the sentence.

 _See, was that so hard? Now say it again, without whispering._

"WHAT? How did they know?" Lucy exclaimed. Unwilling to continue being humiliated by a letter written hours ago, Lucy straightened up and announced it properly.

"I am beautiful."

 _Well done. Now say it again, because you still don't believe it._

"I am beautiful."

 _One more time._

"I am beautiful!"

 _Good! We're off to a promising start. Now we have to channel that self-belief to help you achieve your goals. What are some things that you want to do, but aren't confident enough to attempt?_

"Well, I've always wanted to attempt a solo mission, but I never thought I'd be able to do it. I also wanted to renegotiate my contract with Aquarius, but she's too scary to talk to. Oh! And I wanted to submit a short story to the local newspaper."

 _ERR! Wrong answer. You want to ask Natsu out on a date._

"No I don't!"

 _You're lying again, aren't you?_

"…Yes."

 _You don't think that you're good enough for him._

"Th-that's right."

 _Well you are. Because you are beautiful. You said so yourself._

"I did say that." Lucy admitted.

 _Dragons like hoarding pretty and valuable trinkets. Why do you think Natsu hasn't left your side since you joined Fairy Tail?_

"Well, I mean, I do sort of object to being referred to as a trinket."

 _Lucy, you are beautiful. You are strong. You are kind. You will go and tell Natsu your feelings tomorrow._

"I don't know, it's just that"-

 _No excuses._

"HOW DID YOU INTERRUPT ME? YOU'RE JUST A NOTE!"

 _Say "I'm going to tell Natsu my feelings tomorrow"._

Lucy mumbled something incoherent.

 _I couldn't quite hear you, you'll have to speak up._

"HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?"

 _Because, Lucy, I can read you like a book, now say it properly._

Lucy groaned, before finally relenting. "I'm going to tell Natsu my feelings tomorrow".

 _Good girl._

 _-Anonymous_

Lucy turned off the light and flopped into bed, burying her face into her pillow.

Sleep wasn't going to take her anytime soon, she had a lot of thinking to do before going to Fairy Tail tomorrow.

* * *

 **NEXT TIME: The final chapter! Confrontation at Fairy Tail!**

 **Hey everyone! As always, I was blown away by the support given to me, you're all so kind. I'm very interested to hear feedback, so please don't hesitate to let me know what you liked/didn't like about the story or characters.**

 **Two notes today, firstly, I have to mention the British TV comedy series 'Red Dwarf', I paid homage to a couple of jokes from that show in this chapter. I'm comfortable that I was able to put my own twist on it, but it's still ethical to mention the source.**

 **Secondly, for my next story, I've decided to stick with Fairy Tail. The current idea I have is M-rated, it's not NaLu-centric, it's not a romance/comedy, and it'll be much longer than what I've done previously. I understand there will be some backlash, but the legendary 'MissyPlatina' once told me to "write what you would want to read". Other users I've talked to have also been encouraging, so I'm going to follow her advice and go for it. I still have one chapter left of Warm Feelings however so let's live in the present! See you next time!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry about the long delay! I picked up my entire life and moved countries. It's taken a while to settle down, but I was always chipping away at this when I had a spare moment!**

 **Last chapter, here we go!**

"What'll it be, sweeties?" Mira asked brightly.

"Hangover cure." Loke and Cana muttered simultaneously.

"Coming right up! You two just stay here!" Mira smiled kindly and bounced away to prepare the drinks.

"Busy night?" Loke grunted, adjusting his sunglasses.

"Something like that." Cana grunted back. "Not as busy as yours by the looks of it, how much sleep did you get?"

"None."

"Thought so."

They sat in silence, both nursing throbbing headaches. In some sort of record, they had both been the first to arrive at the guild in the morning, even beating Mira.

"So, did you read your warm fuzzies?" Cana smirked.

"Something like that." Loke chuckled with a wry smile.

"What, really? I wasn't serious. How were they?" Cana laughed in surprise.

"Not bad, not bad. Yours was particularly interesting." Loke smiled mysteriously.

"R-really? Why's that?" Cana stuttered, taken aback.

"All those ways you described how amazing my body is, I didn't realise you were so into me."

"I DIDN'T SEND ANYTHING LIKE THAT!"

Loke laughed, and Cana joined in once she gathered that he was joking.

"What did you really think of mine?" Cana probed after a few seconds.

"I'm not telling you that!" Loke snorted indignantly.

"Aww, why not?"

"It's private! Go on then, tell me what you thought of mine."

"Uhh, nah, I'm fine." Cana looked away sheepishly as Loke burst out laughing again.

"How about this, we both say what we thought at the same time. On three?" Loke suggested.

"Alright." Cana agreed, rolling her eyes.

"One, two, three!"

…

They both started laughing again as neither said anything.

"Liar!"

"Liar!"

"OK, OK, but seriously this time!" Loke chuckled. "One, two, three!"

"Nostalgic!"

"Nostalgic!"

"Heyyyy! We're a pretty good team!" Loke laughed again.

"We haven't lost it." Cana agreed.

"I'm baaack." Mira sung, carrying the drinks. "Are you sure you two still need a cure? You sound a lot better!"

"Yeah you're right, bring me a barrel of your finest whatever." Cana ordered, sliding her hangover cure across to Loke. "Oh…and a glass of water." Cana added, as she remembered what someone had written her last night.

"And you, Loke?" Mira asked.

"Er, maybe after lunch…" Loke conceded, taking a drink of his vile concoction. "I need to go nap in a sunbeam for a little while."

"Weak." Cana grinned smugly.

An awkward silence stretched between them as Cana waited for her drink, and Loke remained seated.

' _I challenge you to have a real conversation with me, tomorrow at the guild.'_

Loke shuffled nervously in his chair, wasn't he just running away again?

Cana turned her head, eying him curiously. "I thought you were leaving."

"Oh, well, I, you know…" Loke trailed off meekly. "C-can I borrow a kiss? I promise I'll give it back."

Cana stared at him blankly for what seemed like an eternity.

"Are you trying to pick me up, or was that your attempt at a real conversation?" She eventually asked, bemused.

"Uhhh, a little of column A, a little of column B." Loke admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

"Mmm, well try again, you can't just open a conversation like that."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Gimme a sec, OK?"

Cana nodded and Loke went into deep thought.

"What's he doing?" Mira whispered, wandering over with a barrel of Fairy Tail's finest 'whatever'.

"Trying to think of a real conversation, I hope." Cana whispered back.

"How exciting!" Mira clapped softly. "Good luck!"

"Oh, thanks- wait! It's not like that!" Cana called after the disappearing barmaid.

"OK! I got it! Ready?" Loke announced, proudly.

"Yeah yeah, do your best." Cana drawled.

"How much does a polar bear weigh?"

"What?" Cana frowned in confusion.

"How much does a polar bear weigh?" Loke repeated, earnestly.

"Uhh, I have no idea."

"Enough to break the ice. I'm Loke, and you are?"

Cana slapped her forehead in disappointment.

"Idiot! I know your name! And that was still a pickup line! We've met before, right?"

"R-right."

"So you don't need to introduce yourself! Just…start a normal conversation."

"You make it sound like it's the easiest thing in the world!" Loke whined.

"Yeah, funny about that." Cana muttered under her breath.

"OK! OK! …How are you?"

"I'm a little tired, but still pretty good. How about you?" Cana replied cordially.

"Yeahhh, not so great." Loke sighed dramatically.

"Oh really? What's wrong?"

"I have a problem with my eyes, I can't take them off you."

"Asking how I am isn't a license to drop another pickup line!" Cana scolded.

"But Canaaaa, it's all I know!" Loke whined, again.

"Let me ask you this then." Cana turned to face Loke squarely. "Would you actually want to date someone who would fall for those lines?"

"Well"-

"Date, I said."

"…I guess not." Loke admitted.

"So let's try again, go!" Cana urged.

"Um, uh…what are you doing today?"

Cana narrowed her eyes.

"No! Not like that! Honestly, what are you doing today?" Loke asked again, with more sincerity.

Cana gave him the benefit of the doubt and answered. "Not much, I'll probably stick around here, I'm interested to see the fallout from last night's activity. You?"

"Yeah, I think I'll do the same. Hopefully Gray confessed to Juvia."

"Or Natsu confessed to Lucy."

Cana and Loke looked at each, before howling with laughter.

Across town, Natsu woke himself up with a sneeze.

 **OoOoO**

"Good morning, Natsu!"

Happy flew into the bedroom, carrying a tray.

"Good morning, Happy." Natsu greeted, rubbing his nose sleepily. "What's that?"

"I made you breakfast!"

"Whoa? Really?"

"Yeah, sorry for being a brat yesterday, forgive me?"

"Oh! It's OK buddy, I'm just glad you're safe."

"Great! If I'm already forgiven, then you can share your breakfast with me!" Happy cheered cheekily.

"Let me guess"-

"It's fish!"

"You didn't let me guess!"

Happy dropped the tray onto Natsu, and it was indeed just a fish. Although in a rare turn of events, it was cooked.

"Did you cook this?" Natsu asked, shocked.

"I tried! I want to be, uh, self-suf-fish-ent. You know, cook fish myself."

"Happy, whatever happens, I'm always going to be there to support you." Natsu promised, suddenly.

"Booo! Serious Natsu is lame!"

"I was trying to be nice!"

"Nice Natsu is also lame!"

"Fine then! Mean Natsu says no fish for Happy!"

"Waaaaah! Erza, Natsu is being mean to me!"

"NO I WASN'T!" Natsu yelled, covering his head to defend from the oncoming attack.

"Yoink!"

"Gimme back my fish!"

"It's my fish now!"

"Alright, you can eat that fish, but let's head to the guild, I'm starving!"

"Aye sir! Maybe Luuuuucy will be there!"

 **OoOoO**

Lucy woke up in a tangle of pillows and blankets, blinking blearily at her clock. Today was the day. The day that she'd…probably make a fool of herself in front of everyone. Lucy moaned and turned back over.

"Not yet…10 more minutes please."

 **OoOoO**

"Good morning, Mira! Good morning…Loke? Cana?"

Erza stopped in her tracks, shocked by the appearance of Fairy Tail's two most nocturnal mages.

"Good morning!"

"Mornin!"

"Milady!"

After the greetings, Loke and Cana went back to their animated conversation, so Erza sidled over to talk to Mira at the other end of the bar.

"What's going on? Did I miss a summons? Why are Loke and Cana here so early?" Erza asked, baffled.

"Beats me." Mira smiled innocently. "Maybe something to do with last night's activity?"

Erza nodded thoughtfully. While she didn't like the idea of Cana starting her day's drinking earlier than normal, at least she had some company this time.

"What are they talking about?" Erza asked, lowering her voice.

"Erza! You really think that I'd eavesdrop on their conversation?" Mira pouted, defensively.

"Yes. Yes I do."

…

"OK. They are talking about all the things they hate about Magnolia's club scene. 30 minutes ago they were talking about this year's fashion trends, and an hour ago Loke was explaining why Lucy will never have a boyfriend."

"Wait, how long have they been in here?"

"Well," Mira looked up at the clock. "It's nearly 11, so I think that makes it about 3 hours."

"3 HOUrs" Erza started, before lowering her voice again. "Are they, an item?" Erza whispered the last two words.

"I don't know, maybe." Mira replied, frowning. She hated not knowing the precise relationship status of her guild members at any given time. "Anyway, how was your night?"

"Brutal." Erza sighed. "That challenge you and the Master laid out took me hours to solve, but I got there in the end."

"I think you maybe took it a little too seriously."

"Maybe." Erza admitted with a small smile. "Still, I need a little energy kick. Natsu, Happy, Gajeel, and Gray, are all in big trouble."

 **OoOoO**

Gray shivered. He didn't shiver often as he rarely got cold, so it was always a bad omen when he did. He stopped walking, Fairy Tail was only about 100 metres away, was this a warning? He didn't need to see Juvia today, he could just come in tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that. Maybe he could sneak in and take a week-long mission and everything would magically be back to normal by the time he returned…

Gray winced at his own cowardice. It was time to man up. It was time to go in there and sort this mess out. As soon as he ate lunch. Gray spun on his heel and stalked off in the opposite direction. What? He was hungry…

 **OoOoO**

Gajeel chewed on his lunch, some scrap metal from the construction site he'd worked on that morning. He kicked open the guild doors and strode past the scared onlookers, taking his usual seat at a table in the corner.

"Oh, Gajeel!"

Levy bounced over, smiling widely.

"Last night was really fun, let's do it again sometime!"

An eavesdropping Wakaba was immediately incapacitated by a nosebleed.

"Keep your voice down, Squirt." Gajeel growled, although his tone lacked any of the venom he reserved for everyone else. "This place is really packed today for some reason."

"Everyone wants to see the results of the team building activity!" Levy laughed. "It's 2pm now, and most of the regulars turn up around 3, so people are trying to get good seats to watch the action."

"Hn. That explains why I didn't have to boot anyone out of my corner table."

"Yes, your precious sulking spot." Levy teased. "You should really migrate a little closer to the rest of us."

"Later." Gajeel muttered, evasively. "I just need to think for a bit, OK?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." Levy replied, slightly taken aback. While Gajeel's dismissive tone would probably be deemed rude coming from most people, it was actually a step up from the usual slew of insults that normally followed a request to move closer to the others. Levy decided to leave him to it, wondering what was going through his head.

 **OoOoO**

"Wow, this place filled up!" Loke said, swivelling on his seat at the bar. "I suppose it's too late for that nap."

"It's nearly 3!" Cana exclaimed, looking at the clock for the first time in a while. "We've been here for 7 hours! How am I not wasted?"

"You're still on your first barrel." Elfman observed, walking past. "I never thought I'd be saying this to you, but if you keep nursing your drink like that I'm going to have to ask you to give up your bar stool."

Loke tutted mockingly. "My how the mighty have fallen."

"Oh, please! I don't see you helping us keep our spots! So, tell me more about the dawn of humanity."

"Ugh, don't phrase my childhood like that, it makes me feel so old."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you are ancient."

"Ah, but you're only as young as you feel." Loke replied knowingly.

"Mhmm, and how young did you feel this morning, old man?"

"Not very." Loke admitted with a smile. "But I've bounced back! Elfman! Two of your fruitiest, girliest drinks, for me and the pretty lady."

"That's not very man"-

"Shut up!"

 **OoOoO**

"YOOOO! What's up, Fairy Tail?"

Natsu barged in with a huge smile on his face, shadowed as always by the flying cat, Happy.

A series of greetings were thrown around in a jumbled mess, although Natsu immediately noticed the lack of any insults. Gray was late.

"Where's Gray?" Natsu asked Levy, she normally knew these things.

"Hasn't shown up yet." Levy replied.

"Oh, where's Juvia?"

"Hasn't shown up yet."

"I see, I see. I don't really care or anything, but where's Lucy?"

Levy fought the urge to giggle. "Hasn't shown up yet, but don't worry!" She added, as Natsu looked slightly crestfallen.

"I'm not worried!" Natsu exclaimed quickly. "YO! Metal freak! I'm bored, fight me!"

"You're on, Salamander!" Gajeel chuckled, snapping out of his stupor.

"What, really?" Natsu replied, surprised.

"Yeah, really?" Levy echoed, edging away from the soon-to-be-battlefield.

"Why not?" Gajeel smiled evilly, cracking his knuckles.

"Alright! I'm all fired up!" Natsu roared.

 **OoOoO**

Happy gently came to a rest, plopping down on the bar in front of Cana.

"Oh! Hello, Happy. I didn't see you come in. What are you doing here?"

"I'm delivering a message for Natsu!" Happy puffed out his chest proudly.

"Really." Loke deadpanned. "What does that dope want?"

"He wants to know where he can find some second-hand clothes for cheap, like the ones that Loke is wearing."

"HE SAID WHAT?" Loke jumped out of his chair and surveyed the guild, quickly locating the brawling Natsu and Gajeel. "Please excuse me for a moment." Loke bowed to Cana, before charging into the fray.

"Natsu didn't really say that, did he?" Cana questioned Happy.

"Nope! But now that we're alone, I believe we have some things to discuss." A dark shadow passed across Happy's grinning face.

"That we do." Cana smirked, her face also falling into the shadows.

 **OoOoO**

Erza's sense of danger started going haywire, but she suppressed it, assuming that it had something to do with the fight going on right in front of her.

She'd resisted the urge to break it up immediately, it was a healthy way for the boys to blow off some steam after all, but after the addition of Loke things had gotten slightly out of hand.

CRUNCH

Erza got up, that was the third table destroyed; time to shut this party down.

"BOYS!"

The fight froze, Gajeel had a fistful of Natsu's hair, the other arm pulled back ready to strike. Natsu had Loke in a headlock, one knee raised, ready to kick Gajeel in the stomach. Loke had an arm snaked around Natsu's leg, preparing to trip him, his other shone with ring magic, directed at Gajeel. All three looked in Erza's direction, waiting for the lecture.

Erza opened her mouth to scold them, but found herself flashing back to the warm fuzzies.

' _Scarlet, you're not so tough'_

' _I'm not scared of you!'_

' _Next time u see me, lets fite!'_

Erza closed her mouth again and swallowed. How many times had she turned down these offers of friendship? The guild remained deathly quiet, preparing for the verbal onslaught.

"I'm not your mother, I'm your friend." Erza suddenly announced.

"Uhh, you don't say..." Loke muttered, still in a headlock.

"So?" Gajeel retorted, bluntly.

"So," Erza's stern face broke into a smile, "Room for one more?"

"AWWW HELL YEAH!" Natsu roared.

"Bring it on!" Gajeel sneered.

"I don't have a say in this, do I?" Loke asked from under Natsu's arm.

"ROAR OF THE"-

"Yeah, that's what I thought" sighed Loke, as all hell broke loose once again.

 **OoOoO**

Juvia tentatively opened the doors of Fairy Tail and poked her head inside. She was supposed to be looking for Gray, but was immediately distracted by the pure carnage that was the centre of the main hall. Juvia shuffled in further and skirted along the boundaries, not wanting to draw attention to herself. As she got closer to the wreckage, she caught sight of her young friend, Wendy, healing somebody.

"Wendyyyy." Juvia whispered.

"Oh, Juvia! I was wondering when you"-

"Shhhh!" Juvia looked around nervously. "Is Gray here?"

"Not that I'm aware of." Wendy replied, craning her neck. "It's a good thing too, who knows how much worse the fight would have been."

It was at this point that Juvia realised who Wendy was healing; it was Nab.

"Nab joined in the fight?" Juvia asked, incredulously.

"Not quite." Wendy smiled. "It was more like, the fight joined him. Oh! I think the ringleaders are waking up!"

 **OoOoO**

"Wakey wakey!" Mira sang.

"Uhhhh, my head." Loke mumbled. "What happened?"

"You got caught between a rock and a hard place." Mira explained.

"What?"

"Gajeel and Erza nearly destroyed the entire guild." Cana chipped in. She waved goodbye to Happy as the cat flew away from the bar.

"Ahh. What happened to Natsu?"

"He was KO'd by Erza."

Loke turned his head to look where Cana was looking. Erza was bowing and apologising to an unconscious Natsu, resting his head on her lap.

"She realised she got a bit carried away when she was the last one standing." Cana explained further.

"Oh? So where's Gajeel?"

 **OoOoO**

Gajeel brushed off Levy's hands as she tried to patch up a cut above one of his eyes.

"Enough, Shrimp. I'll live."

Levy puffed her cheeks up in annoyance, but let him be. Gajeel jumped to his feet, quickly spotting his target.

"Scarlet!"

Gajeel stalked over to the red-headed mage and the unconscious dragon slayer.

Erza looked up from Natsu and gave Gajeel a blank look, not knowing what to expect from Fairy Tail's most volatile member.

Gajeel glared at Erza, his right fist clenching and unclenching as he struggled with something internally. After a minute, Erza spoke.

"What do you want, Gajeel?"

Gajeel winced, and seemed to be on the verge of backing away, when his eye began to sting. The wound still hadn't closed, a small trickle of blood was leaking down and blurring his vision. Gajeel touched his forehead and inspected the blood on his fingers. Finally, he looked back at Erza and bowed.

A collective gasp went around the guild as Gajeel held the deep bow, refusing to look up.

"Scarlet, help me become stronger. Help me protect…Fairy Tail."

"Sure." Erza didn't hesitate for even a second.

Gajeel slowly straightened up, a fleeting look of surprise crossed his features, but it was quickly buried beneath his usual neutral scowl. "Thank you."

Gajeel spun on his heels, but was stopped by a tug on his wrist, Erza had shot her hand out and stopped him. She gently placed Natsu's head on the ground and stood up, releasing Gajeel's arm.

"What did I just say? I'm your friend."

Erza put her hand out to shake as equals, and Gajeel took it, nodding silently. Erza crouched back down on the ground and went back to caring for Natsu, and Gajeel strode off without another word.

The silence that had gripped the guild during the confrontation was swept away by a wave of hushed whispers, the buzzing of conversation growing louder and louder as the moment faded.

"What was that abo- Hey!"

Gajeel walked up to Levy, grabbed her by the arm, and tugged her along after him, falling back into his position at the corner table. Levy sat in the seat next to him, waiting for an explanation.

After a stretch of silence, Gajeel coughed and motioned towards the open cut on his head.

"OH!" Levy quickly opened her first aid kit and went back to work.

"I don't like asking for help." Gajeel mumbled under his breath, looking away in embarrassment.

Levy giggled slightly and nodded, showing she understood what he meant.

 **OoOoO**

Juvia waited patiently behind a wooden beam in the main hall. From her vantage point she was able to remain mostly invisible, but still have a good view of the entrance and the bar. It was perfect.

"Juuuuvia!"

Happy fell out of the sky and landed on her head.

"Shhh! Happy! Juvia is trying to hide!"

"Then it's perfect! No one can see me in your hair, I'm the master of camouflage!"

"Not even close!"

Juvia reached up and pulled Happy out of her hair as he attempted to burrow in further. She dangled him out at arm's length in front of her, waiting for an explanation.

"Aww, I thought you wanted my help." Happy mock-pouted.

Juvia jumped, remembering what she'd written last night.

"Oh! Juvia doesn't know what came over her when she wrote that! Juvia doesn't think she can go through with it, Happy!"

Happy shook his head, pityingly. "Don't back down! Erza is taken care of, but I still need an idea for Lucy. Help me, and Lucy will be out of the equation after tonight."

"Lucy…out of the equation…" Juvia struggled for a moment, clearly tempted by the idea. "OK! Let's do it!"

Happy smiled deviously. "Gooooood."

 **OoOoO**

Lucy looked in the mirror for what felt like the hundredth time. She was desperately trying to look as beautiful as possible, without it being obvious that she was trying to do so. She'd spent the afternoon applying, removing, and re-applying makeup, trying to find the perfect balance of formal and casual. She'd gone through her entire wardrobe, trying to find something in between a ball gown and her pyjamas. And she'd worked Cancer to exhaustion, asking for "a new look, but not like 'wow, great new hair, Lucy!' Just like a 'oh, your hair looks nice today' kind of look."

She took a moment to glance nervously at the window. Usually if she was this late turning up to the guild, Natsu would have come and investigated by now. Of course, she'd respond with a kick to the face for breaking in, but right now that scenario was a lot better than confessing her feelings at Fairy Tail.

With one last look at her reflection, she sighed deeply and departed.

 **OoOoO**

Gray opened the door to Fairy Tail in his usual relaxed manner. He strode confidently through the wreckage in the centre of the main hall and took a seat at the bar, keeping his eyes straight forward at all times. Anyone watching him would assume it was business as usual, but Gray was struggling to keep his heart rate down. He lowered his body temperature and took a deep breath, waving Mira over, knowing there was no turning back after that.

"GRAYYYYY! What took you so long?" Mira yelled, excitedly.

Gray forced a smile and cocked his head in rehearsed ignorance. "Hm? Oh, look at the time! I was just running some errands today."

"Nothing to do with the warm fuzzies, hmmm?" Mira asked slyly.

"The what? Oh, those. No, no. Just some shopping."

"Hmm." Mira nodded, smiling in a way that said 'I don't believe you at all'.

"J-just the usual, thanks." Gray coughed nervously, averting his eyes.

"Coming right up!" Mira skipped away without any further questions, prompting Gray to breathe a sigh of relief.

For the first time he surveyed the guild, taking in his surroundings. Erza was caring for an unconscious Natsu, and Gajeel was getting attended to by Levy in the corner. Several others were laid out on the ground and Wendy was scurrying between them using her healing magic. Down the bar, Cana and Loke were laughing, both seemed a lot happier than usual. Despite how many people were here, he couldn't find who he was looking for.

 **OoOoO**

"It's a deal."

Happy and Juvia shook hand to paw, and Happy took off to begin preparations. Juvia smiled nervously, still conflicted about her decision, but already becoming excited about the outcome. She turned back around to wait for Gray.

"EHHHH!?"

Gray was already sitting at the bar, sipping on a drink, eyes glazed over.

Juvia started panicking, she wasn't ready for this. She took a couple of stumbling steps backwards and tripped over one of the destroyed chairs, landing with a thump.

"O-ow!"

"Juvia?"

Juvia went bright red as she looked up to see Gray staring at her from the bar.

"Ah! Sorry!"

"Don't apologise!"

"Sorry!"

Gray slapped his forehead, but couldn't contain a small smile.

"Come over here."

"Y-yes! Right away!" Juvia got up, but then tripped over the same chair going forwards. Eventually she stumbled over and collapsed onto the barstool next to Gray, her face bright red.

"Juvia."

"Yes, Gray?"

"We need to talk."

"I'm listening." Juvia urged, kindly. Gray studied her carefully, before sighing and jumping into his speech.

"I'm not dense. I understand that my face is easy on the eyes. I know that I've taken good care of my body. I am well aware that my aloofness is often seen as a cool quality. I accept that I'm braver than most. I concede that I'm someone that others look up to. And, even though I don't completely agree with your interpretation of events, I recognise that I had a hand in rescuing you from your old life. In summation, I understand how it's possible that someone would make the mistake of liking me, romantically."

Juvia attempted to interrupt, but Gray held up his hand, and continued on.

"What I don't understand, is why you obsess over me. Why you would put my life ahead of your own. Why you would wait forever for me, without any sign of hope. Please, why do you love me?"

Gray and Juvia sat staring at each other, the world around them dissolving into nothingness. Gray's face was set, determined. Juvia's was blank, giving away nothing.

After a few seconds, Juvia smiled, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"What?" Gray asked, frowning slightly in confusion.

"Juvia thought Gray was going to ask something difficult."

Gray opened his mouth, but no words came out. Juvia giggled, and reached out to hold Gray's hand in her own.

"What are you"-

"Shhhh. It's Juvia's turn. Gray likes to analyse, Gray likes to compartmentalise, Gray likes to dissect every word, every action, every emotion, and study it with his cold logic. What Gray fails to understand, despite how wise he is, is that love is immune to rationality. Juvia doesn't love Gray for reason A or reason B, she loves Gray because she loves Gray."

"That doesn't make any sense! How do you know- OW! What was that for?"

Juvia had cut Gray off by flicking him on the forehead.

"Gray asked and so Gray will listen. Juvia had nothing, she was hollow. Now Juvia has something, and she will follow what her heart tells her. Juvia understands that people like to use their head in such matters, but Juvia does not. Juvia will not corrupt her love for Gray with doubt. Juvia has faith in her heart, Juvia has faith in Gray."

Juvia let go of Gray's hand and straightened back up on her stool, smiling peacefully. Gray stared at his empty hand in a daze, not saying anything as he tried to gather his thoughts.

"I'd be a terrible boyfriend, Juvia." Gray eventually blurted out. "I meant what I said yesterday, you deserve a lot better."

"Juvia doesn't deserve to be alive, no Phantom Lord mage that loses to an outsider in battle deserves to live on. That was the philosophy beaten into us since the very beginning. Life after defeat was something that neither Juvia nor Gajeel ever thought about. Juvia is very satisfied with how things have turned out."

Gray stared at Juvia, his dark eyes boring into her bright ones.

"OK."

"OK?"

"Let's…do this."

"Not good enough." Juvia sniffed.

"W-what?" Gray stammered, taken aback.

"Gray should not be doing Juvia a favour by asking her out, he should be doing it because he wants to."

"I do want to!"

"Then ask Juvia like you mean it." Despite her tone. Juvia couldn't stop her smile from growing as she scolded the poor boy, knowing the moment she'd dreamed of was about to occur.

"Oh, r-right! Of course! Juvia!" Gray straightened his shoulders and took a deep breath. "Would you like to"-

"YES!"

Juvia's eyes widened as she clamped her hands over her mouth, having jumped the gun slightly. Gray chuckled, but continued on anyway.

"Would you like to go on a date tomorrow night?"

"Yes!" Juvia squeaked from between her fingers.

Gray smiled for a moment before faltering a little.

"Er, what do I do now?"

"You could engage Juvia in a deep, romantic, kiss." Juvia suggested, slyly.

Gray nodded in understanding and leant forward, causing Juvia to blush, her eyes widening in surprise. Then, right before their lips made contact, Gray smiled. He stood up and quickly pecked her on the forehead instead.

"Maybe later." Gray winked and moved past her to attend to other business.

"H-hai." Juvia whispered breathlessly, collapsing onto the bar in an ecstasy coma.

 **OoOoO**

"He actually did it." Loke murmured in disbelief, having watched the scene unfold from down the bar.

"Don't you owe me some money?" Cana asked.

"Nah, you have that bet with Levy. And it's about Natsu and Lucy. And you're betting Natsu _won't_ ask Lucy."

"It was worth a shot." Cana shrugged.

"Why are you trying to fleece money out of me anyway? I'm already paying for all your drinks!" Loke rounded on her indignantly.

"Like a true gentleman!" Cana raised her glass. "Keep them coming!"

"What am I getting out of this anyway?" Loke whined playfully. "You're eating into my life savings!"

"If you haven't saved enough money after all these centuries, then I don't know what to tell you..." Cana replied dryly. "And I take offense to that, by the way! You're getting the pleasure of my company!"

"It's been a nice day." Loke admitted.

"You were very well-behaved." Cana complimented condescendingly. "You know, after all this talking, now would actually be an appropriate time for a pickup line."

"What? Really?"

"Yeah, I don't see why not. You asked questions about me, you talked about yourself, you paid for my drinks, I think you'd be well within your rights to throw a cheeky line in. They can be charming or endearing, as long you don't open with them!"

"Well! Alright then!" Loke straightened up, rubbing his hands in anticipation. "Are you religious? Because you're the answer to all my prayers."

"Lame. Enough of this 'are you' stuff."

"Fine. I'm not a photographer, but I can picture me and you together."

"Pass."

"Oh come on! That's top shelf!"

"No. No it isn't. At least I hope it isn't…"

"Ok, OK…" Loke turned away from Cana for a moment before turning back around, squinting his eyes. "Say…you look familiar. Didn't we take a class together?"

"Uh, no?"

"Are you sure? I could've sworn we had chemistry…"

Cana stared at Loke blankly, before conceding a smile. "Alright, that was clever, but still no points since I already know that you're so old that you predate the discovery of fire, let alone chemistry…"

"That's not fair!"

"Tough."

Loke pouted, drumming his fingers on the counter. "I'm pretty much out then, I only have one more and it's kind of lame."

"You think all those other ones weren't? Just say it!"

Loke shrugged. "Do you like my jacket?"

"Yes?" Cana answered hesitantly, unsure of how she was supposed to proceed.

"I do too. Do you know what it's made of?"

"Uhh, leather?"

"Nah, boyfriend material."

Cana snorted as Loke rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Alright." Cana sighed.

"Alright?"

"Yes. Let's go out sometime."

"What, on a date?" Loke spluttered.

"Yes of course on a date. You just told me you were boyfriend material didn't you?"

"Well, yes, but I'm way too old for you! I never thought you'd actually agree!"

"Too bad, I like you."

"Gildarts is going to kill me." Loke groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"Maybe." Cana admitted. She swivelled on her stool to view the guild hall and smirked darkly. "Excellent, it's almost time."

 **OoOoO**

Tired of sitting on the floor, Erza had propped Natsu into a chair, his body and face slumped forward on the table, still unconscious. Erza sat opposite him, awaiting her order.

"Erza!"

Cana ran over to the table with her deck of Tarot cards.

"I was doing some prediction work and my cards showed an incoming disturbance in the peace of the guild."

"They're a little late." Erza frowned, surveying the devastation around them from the fight.

"Er, a further disturbance." Cana bluffed.

"Not on my watch!" Erza yelled defiantly.

"Yes! I knew you would come to Fairy Tail's aid!" Cana clapped her hands. "Let me do another reading, it may help us prevent whatever is about to happen."

"Good idea!"

Cana pulled up a chair and began to deal cards.

 **OoOoO**

Lucy peered into the guild. It was no surprise to her that the place was trashed, the rush hour had been a few hours ago after all.

"Lucyyy!"

Lucy was attacked by a flying hug from her friend, Levy.

"How come you came so late? Natsu was really worried about you!" She teased.

"S-stop!" Lucy put her hands over her cheeks as they had already turned a little pink. "He was not!"

"Wellllll, he was worried by Natsu-standards." Levy admitted. "You've really dolled yourself up today, what's the occasion?"

"H-have I? I didn't notice…" Lucy muttered tamely.

"Please. A guy may not notice, but you can't fool a sister!"

Lucy poked her tongue out in defiance, refusing to talk.

"Luuuuuucy!"

Happy plummeted from the ceiling, bouncing off Lucy's head.

"OWW! Happy! What was that for!?"

Happy picked himself up off the floor and inspected his paws.

"Lucy, you weirdo! What's wrong with your hair? It was too slippery for me to grab onto!"

"HA!" Levy taunted.

"NOTHING IS WRONG WITH MY HAIR!" Lucy argued putting a hand over Levy's mouth.

"Whatever, weirdo." Happy grunted, trying to rub the oil off his paws onto the floor.

"Oi! I'm supposed to be the one angry at you!" Lucy rounded on Happy. "You sent me a cold prickly!"

"Fish are delicious! Saying that I sent you a cold prickly is like you sending me a cold prickly…but with your words!"

"Sooo, like an insult?"

"YEAH! Take it back!"

"Fine, fine." Lucy rubbed her forehead, already too tired for Happy's antics. "Thank you, Happy, for your lovely warm fuzzy."

"You're welcome!" Happy smiled widely. "It's nice to see you here, Lucy. Don't go anywhere!"

"Uhhh, sure."

Happy continued smiling as he flew away, leaving Lucy thoroughly confused.

 **OoOoO**

Cana flipped the first card over dramatically. "The Queen of Swords! This signifies"-

"Hold on!" Erza interrupted, "I thought the first card had to be from Major Arcana. Suit cards are from Minor Arcana."

"How did you- …never mind. This is a special reading so the normal rules don't apply." Cana lied.

"Ohhh, I'm sorry, continue."

"Thank you. The Queen of Swords signifies a woman who is complex, courageous, and intelligent. She is greatly concerned with small accuracies and attention to detail. This person has also overcome deep sorrow and adversity…who do you think it's talking about?" Cana prompted, obviously.

Erza's eyes were wide in shock. "Y-you don't think…the cards are suggesting…I'm involved?" She asked hesitantly.

"Erza, it's the Queen of Swords, who else do you think the cards could be talking about?" Cana whispered.

Erza gulped and leaned in closer. "What's the next card?"

Cana took a deep breath and flipped it over. "It's…the Wheel of Fortune!"

"That's great!" Erza cheered.

"Erza…the card is reversed." Cana spoke softly.

"S-so that means…?"

"Yes, this card means you're going to encounter unexpected bad luck."

"No!"

"I'm afraid so." Cana nodded sadly.

"This is terrible! You have to do something!" Erza demanded.

"I'm just dealing the cards!" Cana assured her. "There's still one to go, are you sure you want to see it?"

Erza swallowed nervously, and nodded. "For Fairy Tail."

"It's…the Ten of Cups! Wait, what? The Ten of Cups!? That wasn't supposed to- Uh I mean, wow! What a surprise!" Cana laughed nervously, luckily Erza hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, focused intently on the final card.

"What does the Ten of Cups mean?"

"Err, the Ten of Cups represents lasting happiness and security. A sign of true friendship and love between people. Also a peaceful and secure environment." Cana explained, annoyed.

"Oh! …That's good." Erza said hesitantly.

"Yes, it is." Cana confirmed, frowning.

"Bad luck that will bring happiness…how strange." Erza mused. "Well, thank you Cana, I'll let you get back to the bar."

"No problem." Cana waved lazily, berating herself internally. _What the hell was that? I thought I rigged all three cards! I'm losing my touch…_

 **OoOoO**

"Hm? Wazzz goin on?" Natsu pulled himself up off the table slowly, trying to get his bearings.

"Oh! Natsu! You're awake." Erza smiled, breaking out of deep thought. "I'm so sorry about what happened earlier, I didn't expect to get so carried away."

Natsu frowned in concentration as the memories slowly ebbed back, but then broke into a wide smile. "See! I told you it was fun! Let's do it again sometime!"

"Y-yeah, maybe…" Erza replied, taken aback.

"Like right now!" Natsu yelled excitedly, punching his fists together.

"I think not. You should try and sit still for a little while and recover." Erza advised sternly.

"Yeah, maybe you're right." Natsu agreed as he became dizzy and fell back down into his chair.

"Oi, Flame Brain, finally woke up huh? Man, how weak…"

Natsu's eyes flashed as Gray mocked him from across the room.

"I didn't see you getting your hands dirty! Hiding in the corner were you?" Natsu taunted back.

"How would you know? You were out after 10 seconds!"

"Was not, Pervert Stripper!"

"ICE MAKE"-

"ROAR OF THE"-

 **OoOoO**

Lucy watched the fight break out with typical disinterest, although she was slightly intrigued by Erza merely sitting calmly as a bystander. What's more, Natsu was only a few metres away from her and he hadn't even noticed that she'd arrived! The nerve!

Lucy's outraged train of thought was interrupted, as was the fight, by an ominous creaking noise from above them. Everyone in the main hall looked up as the wooden ceiling moaned under an enormous weight.

"Y-your strawberry cheesecake, Erza." Mira muttered absent-mindedly, staring up at the ceiling in bewilderment.

"Thanks." Erza replied, taking the cake without looking at her.

It was at that moment that a single drop of water fell. The whole guild watched it splash harmlessly on Natsu's forehead.

"HEY!" Natsu spluttered, wiping the water off his face.

"What the…" Gray murmured.

"What has Juvia done?" Juvia whispered.

The wood finally gave in, splintering under the pressure. A crushing body of water hammered down over the occupants of the main hall, the only people spared from the full brunt of its force were those under the cover of the bar. As the final drops leaked down from the gigantic hole in the ceiling, the soaked mages slowly looked around in complete surprise.

"BRATS!"

Makarov was wringing the water out of his moustache, chest heaving as he took deep breaths.

"Who's responsible for this? Gajeel?"

"What? No!" Gajeel hurriedly distanced himself from Levy, who he'd shielded from the water.

"Very manly, Gajeel!" Elfman winked, giving him a thumbs up in approval.

"Oh shut up!"

"Natsu?" Makarov interjected.

"Like I'd get involved with water!" A completely dry Natsu yelled back, the liquid having already evaporated off his body.

"Erza?"

Erza didn't even bother responding, instead checking to see if the cake she'd covered was still ok.

"Happy?"

"…uhhh no?" Happy giggled from the safety of the bar area.

"I know it was you!" Makarov yelled.

"Aye!"

"TOO EASY!" Lucy exclaimed.

"The question is, who helped you...?" Makarov mused.

"No one did! It was all me!" Happy boasted proudly.

"Ehh? Really? Usually at this point you say that Lucy told you to do it." Makarov deadpanned.

"Lucy's not the boss of me!"

"I don't even know how to react to that…" Lucy sighed.

"Well…If you're sure…Happy! Bad! You're on bar duty for a week!"

"Awww."

"As for the rest of you! What the hell is going on in here? I knew last night's activity wasn't going to work miracles, but I didn't expect things to get worse! Erza, I'm disappointed in you most of all!"

A lot of the guild members hung their heads in shame, but Erza met Makarov's gaze evenly and stepped forward.

"Master, I've been doing some thinking, and I ask that you allow me to share these thoughts uninterrupted."

Makarov nodded silently, giving Erza the floor.

"The original complaint was absolutely right. We are unprofessional when we work, Fairy Tail is full of monsters. We are chaotic, wild, uncontrollable, and a constant embarrassment to the council. But, this is our home. These walls are our sanctuary from the rest of the world that would seek to destroy us, or worse, normalise us. In here, we are free.

I take my responsibility as a leader of this guild very seriously, maybe too seriously. Instead of acting as a policeman, maybe I should have been acting as a moderator. I've tried to set a good example in the way that I present myself, and go about my business. But I've made an error in policing my example and forcing them on others. A true leader doesn't stand ahead of the pack, they stand with them. Maybe if I spent more time standing with my friends, rather than opposite them, well, I might have more.

Master, I take responsibility for Fairy Tail's conduct outside of the guild, on account of the restrictions I've put in place inside of it. Fiore is not an escape from Fairy Tail, Fairy Tail is an escape from Fiore…somewhere along the way I forgot that. Forgive me."

Silence hung over the guild, only interrupted by the intermittent splashing of tiny droplets. Makarov opened his mouth to speak, but was beaten to it by Cana.

"There's nothing to forgive, because it's not your fault. You are the shining light of the guild, the only wizard here who brings Fairy Tail praise from the council. If more of us actually took the time to listen to what you have to say, and follow your example, you wouldn't have to come down on us so hard. Forgive us."

"Cana's right." Gray jumped in. "If Natsu wasn't such an idiot then we wouldn't have this problem."

"THAT'S NOT WHAT SHE SAID!"

"How would you know? You zoned out as soon as Erza started talking!"

"You're pretty bad as well, Gray." Loke laughed from the bar.

"At least I don't flirt with drunks!" Gray retorted.

"HEY!" Cana and Loke yelled at the same time.

"Now, now. Let's everyone calm down." Erza called out peacefully. As she said this, she went to scoop a chunk of cake with her spoon, but upon contact it exploded, splattering cake all over her, Lucy, and Natsu.

A few people laughed but they were immediately stifled as a dangerous aura emanated from Erza.

"The cards…they warned me…and I still fell for this trap. This is my loss." Erza hung her head in defeat.

"Told you." Cana whispered to Happy, smugly.

"This isn't happening." Lucy grumbled, wiping cake off of her face.

"Oh! Lucy! When did you get here?" Natsu smiled brightly. "And why do you smell funny? I don't recognise your scent."

"HA!" Levy called out from across the room.

"Nothing is different!"

"Whatever, weirdo. Oh! There's something I wanted to ask you"-

Natsu couldn't finish his sentence as he was poleaxed by a flying Elfman.

Gajeel snickered, shaking out his fist. "Ready for round two?" He looked between Erza and Natsu.

"I'm all fired up!" Natsu yelled, although he was trapped under an unconscious Elfman.

"Master?" Erza asked politely.

"You made a good point, Erza. If they can get it out of their systems in here, then there's less chance of it happening out there. I'll allow it." Makarov nodded.

"Thank you. Although I was actually asking if you wanted to join in too. You need to blow off more steam than any of us."

Makarov's eyes twinkled as a wide smile grew across his face. "Well then, don't mind if I do."

"YEAHHH!" Natsu roared, still stuck under Elfman. "Lucy, Juvia, you joining?"

Lucy took a deep breath to yell at Natsu for being an idiot, but then she caught a glimpse of Happy laughing at her from the bar. "Yes. Yes I will."

"Ehh!?" Happy jumped. "Lucy is scaryyyy!"

"Just this once, you're right." Lucy smirked, spinning a key between her fingers.

"You want Juvia to join too?" Juvia asked, surprised.

"Of course!" Natsu smiled. "It can't get any wetter in here!"

Juvia returned the smile, and skipped over to stand by Gray's side.

"Combination attack, Gray?"

Gray looked down at her fondly. "My favourite."

"Let's do this!" Gajeel smirked, blocking Levy's attempts at leaving. "Last man standing is a coward!"

"Or woman." Erza added.

There was a blinding explosion of magic as the elements crashed against each other. Laughter over the grinding of steel and the thudding of fists echoed through Fairy Tail as the friends exchanged insults and blows.

 **OoOoO**

"I'm finished!" Happy heaved a tired sigh and flopped back onto the bar counter next to Cana.

"Get back in there, lazy!" Cana scolded between sips.

"You get back in there!" Happy replied, rolling over onto his back.

Both watched as the guild brawl continued on, dance partners switching frequently. After a minute, Cana turned back to Happy.

"Thanks for not ratting me out. Or Juvia. I was surprised actually, it seemed to me that you were setting up Juvia to take the fall."

Happy frowned slightly. "I wouldn't do that! We're frie"-

Happy's eyes widened slightly and his gaze became unfocused as he cut himself off.

"Er, Happy?" Cana snapped her fingers in front of his line of sight.

"Huh? Oh. N-nothing."

Cana smirked slightly. "Oooh, are we friends too?"

"NO!"

"You're getting soft." Cana teased, poking Happy's stomach. Happy giggled but said nothing, blushing slightly. Cana smiled earnestly and leaned in. "You're a friend to me."

Happy stared wide-eyed at her as she patted him on the head and left the bar, shuffling her deck of cards while walking into the fray.

 **OoOoO**

Lucy jumped, ducked, twisted, and turned. Ever since Happy had disappeared she'd lost a sense of focus, and now found herself just trying to defend. Attacks kept coming in from all directions, beginning to overwhelm her. A fast beam of light shot along the ground, forcing Lucy to jump into the air. Suddenly, a stray jet of boiling hot water flew through the mist, on a collision course with her face. Lucy closed her eyes and braced for impact, unable to dodge in mid-air. The next thing she knew she was hot, but there was no water. She opened her eyes to find herself in Natsu's arms, he'd plucked her out of the air and they'd landed outside of the melee.

"Er, hi." she said lamely.

"Hi!" Natsu responded enthusiastically. "I never finished what I was going to ask you before!"

"Oh…ok." Lucy responded faintly, turning red. She couldn't go through with it. It would be life changing. Relationship changing. Things would never be the same after she said those words. She should re-assess, go away and think about it some more. You couldn't rush into something of this magnitude.

"Lucy, do you wanna become a couple?"

"WHAT!?" Lucy immediately floundered in shock, causing Natsu to drop her on the ground.

"W-what? Did I say something wrong?" Natsu gulped, immediately regretting his decision. He just wasn't cut out for this stuff.

"You- you, you can't just, just, blurt it out. Where? When? Why? …WHY!?"

Natsu cocked his head in confusion, frowning in thought. "How else was I supposed to ask you? You're not making any sense!"

Lucy just stared at Natsu in complete shock. "Natsu! Look at me! I'm soaking wet! I'm covered in cake! My clothes are torn from the fight! Why now? Why me?"

Natsu shrugged, and collapsed on the floor cross-legged next to Lucy. "I didn't want to waste another minute. I read what you wrote to me…and I hope you read what I wrote to you… and anyway, the cake is an improvement." Natsu laughed as he said the last part, causing Lucy to start spluttering again. He went to scoop some icing off of her face but she grabbed his hand with both of hers right before he made contact. Natsu raised an eyebrow.

"I'm warning you, Lucy, don't come between me and food."

"Don't eat cake off of my face!"

"Watch me!"

The pair struggled back and forward, laughing, before Natsu finally leaned down and licked some cake off her cheek.

"EEEWWWW!"

"HAHAH I licked your face!"

"I KNOW!"

"Get a room you two." Gray sneered.

Lucy squeaked in embarrassment as the pair looked up to see the whole guild watching them.

"It's not what it looks like!" Lucy yelled, still trapped on the floor underneath Natsu.

"Yeah!" Natsu agreed. "I was only asking Lucy if she wanted to be my girlfriend!"

Lucy buried her face in her hands, going even redder. But, instead of laughter or snide remarks, Natsu's announcement was met with resounding applause.

"FINALLY!"

"Go Natsu!"

"Congratulations Lucy!"

Lucy spread her fingers, peeking through them to see the guild go seamlessly from fighting to celebrating.

"Drinks are on me!" Makarov roared over the commotion.

Lucy's gaze wavered back over to the man sitting next to her. He too was looking around the guild, his face glowing, punctuated as always by a wide smile. After a couple of seconds he blinked, and turned back to face Lucy, and his wide smile turned into an embarrassed one.

"So…?"

"Why did I think the world would end if we became a couple?" Lucy asked, half laughing half sighing.

"Because you worry too much."

"Too carefree!"

"I guess we're a pretty good team then, huh?" Natsu grinned cheekily.

Lucy couldn't contain a smile of her own, as was always the case around Natsu. She leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips.

"I guess we are."

 **Finished! Thank you all for reading! If you enjoyed this, maybe you'd like my previous two stories,** _ **Density**_ **, and** _ **The Taste of Fire.**_

 **I got a lot of support along the way, so thank you to everyone who favourited, followed, or reviewed, or even messaged me to say how much they were enjoying the story. I can honestly say I wasn't expecting such a positive response.**

 **As for the future, after much thought I've decided to take a break from fanfiction. I want to do my next story properly, and for that to happen I need a long hiatus. SO! With no set release date, I give you:**

 _ **Detective Erza Scarlet, and her rookie assistant Natsu Dragneel, are assigned to a murder investigation that spirals out of control. With her career on the line, can Erza bring the serial killer, Jack the Ripper, to justice?**_


End file.
